Tales of a Vampire
by Hiparquia
Summary: A different era. In a world submersed in chaos and distress, Ara finds herself surrounded by the blood of the loved and the innocent. Could it be that blood and that pain what binds them in the end? (AU where Add is a vampire).
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I just wanted to clarify that this story takes place in a different time than the original game. Mostly because I wanted long dresses and an old-fashioned vampire story.**

 **Also, Ara's personality won't be the stereotypical clumsy/dumb/innocent that people seem to use a lot. Because I don't think that's how the character should be interpreted. On the same note, I apologize beforehand if Add's personality seems a bit out of character (being a vampire's gotta change something, right?).**

 **This story will probably have blood, violence, angst and lemon in the future (what's a vampire's story without some erotism?). I'll change the rating when that time comes.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

 **Ara: Yama-raja (20)**

 **Add: Mastermind (20**

The letter arrived that morning along with a taxes payment citation and other formal issues of the sort. It wasn't rare for the group to receive personal letters since they started working autonomously long ago. But this one was special, and it immediately caught the attention of Ara, the black haired girl sent to pick up the mail from the post office. It had an elegant envelope, cream colored paper traced with a delicate damask motive and a wax seal closing it from the back. Where had she seen that design before?

Containing her urge of opening it up right there to discover its content, the young woman stuffed the cards inside her hand purse and left the office, greeting the attendant on her way out. That day, she made her way back home with a quicker pace than usual.

The fact that the gates now in front of her belonged to a mansion didn't have anything to do with fortune nor richness or status. It was the property of an important dignitary of the town and Chung, his son, welcomed all of them to make it too their home, once the group was formed. There were eight persons living in the mansion, alongside servants and maids under Chung's command. And all of them were gathered together for a reason.

Ever since they could recall, the world that existed around them was in chaos. Of course, the town management made an effort to leave every trace of danger and disorder under the carpet, but no one was ignorant of the fact that everything that needed to be kept separated was interlaced. The gates to the demonic world were opened long ago, and now the realm of the human life was no longer safe. Everyone knew, and yet the humans struggled to keep the façade of the better days, going about their lives as if nothing was threatening the balance of their world.

But not them. Growing up surrounded by danger, anguish and pain, all of them took upon themselves to protect and fight, their own way. Trained to be strong and to be brave, a variety of different circumstances eventually pulled them together almost as if by fate, sharing a common goal. Even if it meant working under the shadows of a negligent political power and a defenseless security force, they weren't going to back up in the face of the corruption that destroyed everything they once loved.

Ara stepped inside the mansion and to the sitting room where everyone used to spend the day together, for the most part. This time as well she found everyone there.

"Everyone, could I have your attention for a second?" she asked with a strong voice, for everyone to be able to hear. She looked at each of them for a few seconds as they turned to watch her too. "We received a special letter today. I haven't opened it up yet, but judging by this style of enveloping, you have to admit it's quite peculiar" she explained, taking the letter out of her purse and lifting it up for everyone to see.

Aisha, the high magician, who had been playing chess at a corner of the room with Eve until then stepped in and closed the distance between her and Ara. "May I take a look?" she asked, glancing at the envelope between the ebonette's hands. Ara complied and handed her the letter, watching her as she examined it carefully.

"I've seen this crest on the seal before. It belongs to the family that used to live in that old and creepy Castle uptown" she said with a tint of astonishment in her voice, gazing at everyone. "I thought the last member of the family had died" she added, frowning slightly.

"So? Let's open it up already and find out what's happening" a red haired boy, Elsword, pressed on impatiently, moving anxiously on the sofa.

Aisha opened the envelope, leaving it aside and holding the letter between her hands. She started to read out loud.

 _"Dear strangers_

 _Should I start by presenting myself? I'm sure you don't remember who I am, with the busy lives you must have, but I can assure you that I will never forget any of your faces._

 _You saved my life that stormy night, in the alleyway between the hospital and the old pharmacy, two weeks ago. Do you remember now?_

 _I never had the chance to show you how grateful I was, and am, of what you did for me back then. This is when._

 _I'm holding a ball this Friday night, around nine. There are going to be several dignitaries and other figures of the likes, and I couldn't bring myself to not invite you, as a way of thanking you for your bravery._

 _I hope, and urge, that you decide to attend. The address is at the back of the envelope. I'm sure you're going to find your way here easily._

 _I'll be waiting for you._

 _Sincerely_

 _Add Kim"._

The group looked at each other in confusion, letting the heavy silence fill the room for several minutes. But even for them, who held an agitated nocturnal life and had lived to witness multiple deaths and to rescue equally, could remember that day after pondering on what the letter stated.

It was Elesis, the redhead boy's older sister, who broke the silence. "It was odd, that day. He was being attacked by a human, not a demon" she said quietly, not lifting her eyes from the floor. "And there was a dead body by his side when we stepped in and fought the attacker. How come we didn't pay attention to any of that at the time?" she questioned, almost to herself. Everyone looked down.

"We can't possibly stop to pay attention to those details. If we stopped at every corpse we see every night, we would spend all day burying them" Raven, the tanned ex-mercenary retorted with a frown, darkening his expression with a slight trace of anguish.

"We just saw him being attacked and we saved him. There wasn't any place for us to do anything else" Ara added, crossing her arms and leaning her hip against the table.

Eve, once the queen of a now dead race of nasods, broke her silence. "Are we going?" she asked quietly. All of them glanced at each other with unsure expressions, full of doubt. Night was the time in which they went out on patrol. They hadn't skipped a day from their duties in years. But the peculiarity of this situation put everyone in doubt.

"We hadn't have a day off in years! Can't we have a normal night for a change?". This time was Rena speaking up, a woman as beautiful as an elf could be. She had been around ever since the different realms of the world intertwined.

The entire group turned their heads to stare at the owner of the mansion, as if to silently back up Rena's words with a quiet plea. It was evident on their faces that they were tired. No human, no nasod, no elf could carry the burden of death and despair over its shoulders as long as they did. And yet they attended to every responsibility that was put upon them. What could be so wrong about taking one night to themselves, to live on a day where they could be free of the pain they witnessed every night?

"We should go" Chung said, with a faint smile showing on his face. As much as he was the one to urge them to comply with their duties the most, he was tired too. And he didn't want his teammates, his friends, to hold such heavy lives endlessly, every single day.

Aisha reached to the envelope she had left on the table, checking its reverse for the address. "Just as I said" she started, taking her eyes off the letters and peering at everyone in front of her. "It's in the castle".

And so, the preparations for the big night began. The mansion was now filled with excitement and good humor. Nothing like a big event to lift everyone's spirit. Even if they didn't really know their host, it was a party, and they were going to have fun no matter what. They had each other and that was enough.

Ara looked at herself in the large mirror of her room. Combing her long, black hair with her hands she glared at her reflection with a serious face, then, she smiled faintly. How long had it been since she attended a social event like this one? She couldn't even remember. It wasn't normal for a commoner like her to be invited to a ball full of important people, aristocrats. And yet, a maid had been sent to her room to help her prepare for the night. She could hardly contain her excitement, even if she still felt slightly unsure about the way everything unfolded. But it was a dance night, hosted by a mysterious man in a castle, wasn't that what every little girl dreamed of? How she wished to recover that innocence.

There was a knock on the door and Ara let the maid inside. With the dress she had chosen for the occasion, she let the old woman help her with the ties of her corset. It was a wine red dress with a low cleavage and wide straps with red and black, subtle frills that made a curve from her shoulders and over her chest, cut under her breasts by a black corset and followed by a wide skirt, picked up by her hips to create a draped effect, with a black skirt underneath that reached her shoes of the same color. After she was done dressing, the maid left the room and she headed towards the mirror once again, examining herself. She smiled at her reflection. It felt like it was going to be an important night.

There was a carriage waiting for them outside when everything was prepared and they were ready to leave. Even though Chung would have been able to deliver such commodities, the host of the ball insisted, according to the chauffeur, that it was a service he was eager to provide to his honor guests. As excited as they were, not a single streak of doubtfulness was shown. Instead, they looked at eachother with astonished and cheerful expressions, climbing inside without delay.

That night was as beautiful as it could be. The sky was clear without a trace of clouds, the resting state of the town allowed them to easily spot the stars that were shinning above them with a white, faint aura. Ara noticed, the moon was full that night, bathing the houses and buildings with a magical light. None of the other days could they behold the true beauty of their working hours.

Inside the carriage, her friends were chatting spiritedly, smiles on their faces and shine in their eyes. She watched them quietly, with the nostalgia burning up inside her chest. The warm and welcoming atmosphere embraced her and she let herself be enchanted by that night full of magic, as if all the pain and suffering their world was going through was put to a stop, only for that night, only for them to enjoy.

The magnificent castle appeared at her sight through the window, emerging from the mountains as a glorious crown. Ara watched the world stopping in front of her eyes as the carriage reached the entrance to the castle and slowed its pace down. The expectation and anxiety was starting to build up inside of her, she could feel it in her stomach. She hadn't felt like that in years and yet there she was, getting down of their vehicle and walking towards the big gates as if she were floating over the ground swiftly. The presence of the building was strong and intimidating, but the subtle light the moon casted behind its tower made it look like taken out of a painting. She couldn't believe her eyes, not even Chung's mansion was as incredible as this castle was. It was as elegant and imposing, but this one had a strange beauty surrounding it. It looked as if it belonged to the realm of dreams.

The heavy gates opened in front of them, and a tall figure appeared from inside the castle. He was tall and slim, his skin was as pale as the moon over them, even his magenta eyes had a magical shine like that when he glared at them with a faint smile forming on his lips, his pure white hair falling gracefully by the sides of his face, framing it perfectly.

"Welcome, I was waiting for you" he said with a husky voice, placing his arm across his stomach, performing a curtsy before glaring back up at them.

Ara couldn't help but stare at him in awe, her heart racing rapidly inside her chest with a burning sensation spreading all over her upper body. She could almost feel her blood running through her veins. Because those bright eyes, all that time, were looking directly, intently at her, piercing her.

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 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Feedback is always appreciated !**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: And so, here's the second chapter (already).**

 **I don't own Elsword nor its characters.**

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The salon was as big as one would expect from an old castle. Even though four big chandeliers were hanging from the high ceiling, illuminating even the last corner of the room, it still had some kind of dark aura enveloping it. Probably because of the wine red wallpaper, the ebony wood panels covering the bottom half of the walls, the ample dark-purple curtains at each side of the wooden windows or the stone decorations invading the place. It was as enchanting as it could be.

Ara felt entranced. Her heart was beating rapidly, pumping in her chest as she walked around the crowded salon. She watched all the people gathered, all of them with fine dresses and elegant suits, dignified and beautiful men and women chatting in closed groups with wine glasses in their hands, some of them dancing gracefully to the ballroom music. It was almost like watching a scene inside of a book, like an outsider. There was no way she would dare to speak to any of those people. Instead, she roamed around the room, walking carefully as if not to break the spell the castle had casted upon her.

She spotted her friends, they were talking to their host near the entrance of the salon. Ara had left them behind when they entered the room, captivated by its atmosphere she walked absentmindedly until realizing she was alone. Her gaze settled on the white haired man in front of the group. Add Kim was his name? She stared almost without noticing. It wasn't as much because of his handsome features and elegant way of standing, the grace with which he moved, as it was for the charm he shared with his castle. They were standing by the other side of the room, she was watching them through the crowd that separated them. And then it happened, his eyes landed on hers and he stared back with a penetrating gaze, a smile curving his lips slightly.

Ara found herself unable of averting her eyes, she held his look for seconds that felt like eternity, as everything, all the movement, seemed to slow down. She felt her heart come to a stop, her chest tightening almost painfully. A tall man walked past the group, covering her sight and, once he passed, she found Add looking back at the people he was chatting with, her friends, as if what she had just seen were just a mere illusion. Flustered, she turned around and walked aimlessly through the salon, wanting to avoid the encounter with his eyes. She felt moved, bewildered, everything was so surreal and yet the accelerated pumping in her chest was the most certain thing she had ever felt, echoing inside her head loudly.

She found a quiet corner, away from all the commotion, and leaned her back against the wall, bringing a hand to her chest and breathing deeply, trying to calm herself down. Sensing someone standing in front of her, she looked up and a gasp escaped her lips unwillingly. "Sir Kim?" she muttered, suddenly out of breath, and their eyes met once again.

The song that had been playing in the turntable stopped, followed smoothly by the next. But even that single second of silence was noticed by her, accompanying her brief shock in a frozen moment. The enigmatic air surrounding him made it impossible for her to look away.

"Miss? I don't think I know your name yet, but you seem to know mine. How unfair" he spoke with a soft, yet deep voice that seemed to make the air vibrate with his words. She looked at him dumbfounded for several seconds, entranced by those eyes unwilling to leave hers. Just when a husky chuckle was emitted by him she regained her composure, standing straight.

"My name is Ara, Ara Haan. It's a pleasure to finally meet you" she said courteously, presenting herself as she bowed just slightly. When their gazes were leveled once again, she smiled faintly. "It was quite the surprise to discover that the sender of that letter was the owner of such famous castle" she added, widening her smile. She just hoped that the wild beating of her heart wasn't audible enough to be heard by him.

She received a short chuckle in response. "Is it so unlikely? Though I must say, I'm not really accustomed to such a place just yet" he replied, his tone becoming lower by the end of the phrase. Ara tilted her head in confusion.

"Oh, you moved here recently?" she asked. Hadn't Aisha said that the last member of the family that owned the castle had died? What was he doing here, if that was the case?

Add looked at her for several seconds, letting a heavy silence surround them. She was sure of seeing a dark expression cross his face for a moment. Then, just like that, it was gone. "Certainly" he answered curtly. "But it is a rather long story, Miss Ara. Would it be okay if I referred it to you some other time?" he added. She suddenly had the sensation of having said something inappropriate, of meddling in something she shouldn't have, a sensitive subject.

"Of course. Please excuse my intromission, I wasn't trying to be nosy" she hurriedly apologized. This new aura surrounding him was making her extremely uncomfortable. Inside of her lingered the feeling of having made a terrible mistake. But to her surprise, he smiled charmingly at her again.

"Excuse me, where are my manners? Would you like a glass of wine, Miss Ara?" he asked her as he turned to a tall piece of furniture that displayed several sets of glasses and different bottles. He filled two of them with red wine, offering one to her with a smile before she could mutter a response. She received it with a small bow of her head and a smile, sipping on its content as she watched him close the bottle and put it back on its place, then turn back to face her.

They stared at each other intently, examining each other. Ara was way too entranced by his presence to speak a single word, trying hard to make her breathing steady. He didn't seem to be eager to make small chat either, instead, he seemed to be extremely attentive to something. Add lowered his eyes, his lips parted just slightly, but she noticed. Was he staring at her chest? No, her neck. She brought a hand to said place instinctively.

"Is something the matter?" she asked with a soft voice, seeking his eyes. The male looked at her as if in a trance, through her. "Sir Kim?" she insisted, placing a hand on his arm softly, without thinking, immediately taking it back.

"Would you like to dance, Ara?" he asked her, snapping out of whatever it was that had him trapped somewhere else for a second, glancing down at her with his usual smile as if nothing had happened. And nothing did, and yet she had this alarming sensation, caught in the mystery that never seemed to leave him. He held his hand out for her to take and she reached for it, still out of her mind. The moment her hand touched his fingers she felt an electrifying sensation. He was extremely cold, and still her skin felt like it was going to melt under his touch.

He guided her by the hand to a wide space of the salon, where various couples were already dancing to the music. They didn't stop until they had reached the center, and he smiled down at her with a charm that took her breath away. He had magic to him, there was no doubt for her. Add placed his hand firmly at the lower part of her back, letting her hand rest delicately on his. At the same time, she placed her other hand on his shoulder.

He was the first one to move, rocking across the dance floor swiftly and gracefully, guiding her perfectly with his soft, expert movements. Ara let herself be moved around, following his lead. She, who had never attended a ball like that before, felt as if they were floating over the floor. All she could feel was his hand in her back and under hers, with their cold touch, the burning sensation on her skin where he touched her, her throbbing heart threatening to leave her body, that penetrating gaze that refused to leave her eyes. Enchanting her, mesmerizing her to no end while the crowd around them disappeared completely.

She was glad of not having the obligation to talk, because no words came to her mind. Anything she could have said would break the spell around them, the only thing she wanted that exact moment was to get lost forever, lost under his soft grip and the magic of his eyes. How could a complete stranger have such strong power over her? It overwhelmed her.

Song after song, he guided her delicately through the slow rhythm of the music, never leaving her, never letting her eyes leave his intense stare. There was a serious, stoic expression on his face that was as charming, if not more, as his smiling face. And just like the people that melted around them, under the strength of the mystical atmosphere they projected, the time escaped from their hands as well.

Ara found herself next to her friends once again, after he had left her with nothing more than a smile when the music stopped playing. For some reason, she felt disheartened.

"I'm grateful for your attendance, everyone. Thank you for sharing with me your lovely presence and I hope you enjoyed this evening to your heart's content. Sadly, it's time for us to say goodbye. Please make sure to come back some other time" the host announced, speaking loudly for everyone in the salon to hear. Disappointed sounds could be heard across the room as well as mixed words of courtesy. Ara and her friends started to leave when she heard a familiar voice call to her.

"Miss Haan? Can I have a word with you?" she heard, turning around to find Add in front of her. Her body reacted immediately to the encounter, deafening her ears with the sound of her beating heart.

"It was a lovely evening, Sir Add, thank you for having us" she said with a small bow. He smiled, pleased.

"I'm glad you were able to enjoy yourself" he started. Falling silent, he stared at her intently for a long moment, letting her melt under his eyes. "Could I ask a favor from you?" he added after a while, closing the distance between them slowly.

A chill ran down through her spine and she stared back at him, expectant. "Of course, if it's under my power to do so" she replied with a smile. "What is it?" she added before biting down on her lower lip softly.

"Would you stay a little bit longer?".

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 **A/N: I'll take this chance to reply to the reviews of the last chapter.**

GirlyTurtle: Thanks a lot for pointing that out. I did check the chapter again before publishing it, but I must have missed it. I re-read it again and god, I used it an awful lot. They sure look at people a lot. I made the corrections and edited the first chapter with them. I hope it's okay now, thanks again for your feedback!

InsanePurpleLove Of course there are going to be more chapters! I don't plan on ditching this story.

And yeah, vampire Add is a concept that i've always loved...I had to write about it lol.

Thanks for your reviews and feedback!

I hope you enjoy!

(By the way, should I upload the new chapters as soon as I finish them? or should I wait a certain amount of time?

Because I already feel like I uploaded the second one too soon x( )


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Chapter 3! Enjoy!**

 **I do not own Elsword nor its characters.**

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She looked at him, not understanding his words completely. "Why would you want me to stay?" was what she wanted to ask him. Instead, she took a few steps back closer to the door, reaching its frame with her hand. The air was dense between them, even though his expression was as gentle as it could be. Almost imploring, she thought.

"I beg you to excuse me this time, but I really shouldn't. There's already a carriage waiting for us outside and…" she trailed off, feeling her will to speak become weaker at each word. He was smiling, yet she was sure of seeing a different emotion showing on his face. Despair? Pain? Could be.

"Oh well, it's a shame. I just wished to have a word with you. But it'll be some other time, it seems" he said in a soft voice, walking towards the door and next to her.

"Yes, now please excuse me. And thanks, once again" she replied with a slight movement of her head, turning her back at him to walk away and leave the castle at once. Somehow, she felt the urge of running towards the carriage where her friends were waiting for her, running with all her might. She quickened her pace until the group was finally in her sight. Meanwhile, in the castle, Add knocked his head against the closed door with a pained expression distorting his face, gritting his teeth.

Reaching the gates of her home once again made Ara feel at ease, light. She had never been as eager to go back to the mansion as she was now that the adrenalin agitated her and the sensation of having escaped from great danger lingered in her stomach. What did she want to escape from? Add Kim? There was no reason at all to feel that way, and yet she finally had the certainty of being safe.

She took off her dress as soon as she was alone in her bedroom, untied her hair and removed her shoes, throwing herself on her bed and burying the face against the pillows. How she had longed for something familiar. The entire night was filled with different sorts of excitement and new feelings, everything piling up inside of her at once. It was confusing and overwhelming, nothing could make her gladder than to be back at home again, but she didn't dislike the thrill that still remained as an echo in her heart.

With those feelings she drifted to sleep, the mansion becoming quieter and quieter with each passing hour until there was nothing but silence and a deep darkness, only the moon's shine filtering through the windows. All the magic and strange beauty that made that night so incredibly surreal disappeared with the first ray of light in the morning. Ara woke up with the feeling that everything she had experienced had been a dream.

She found Elesis and Aisha chatting when she walked down to the kitchen. "I have a bad feeling about him" she heard Elesis say as she entered the room.

"About whom?" she asked as she sat down at the table, next to them, a frown appearing on her face. The girls turned to look at her when they heard her talk, exchanging a quick glance of doubt. That gesture didn't go unnoticed by Ara, who leaned closer to them as if to press on the subject.

"That Add Kim. Elesis said there was something strange in him, and I agree. Though I couldn't point out exactly what" Aisha explained, lowering her voice when she leaned towards Ara. "It's just a feeling though. There's not really anything bad to say about him. Just this…aura".

Elesis shook her head with a deep frown, staring at the wall past her friends. "Remember what I said yesterday? That day in the alleyway, he was standing next to a corpse. And the one attacking him was a human, that's…strange" she said, breaking her silence. Her gaze was lost at some point of the room, deep in thought. "All we've encountered and fought so far are demons, and corrupted humans. Yet that man was attacking this…Add guy with such vehemence. But he didn't seem corrupted. Otherwise I wouldn't remember it so clearly" she added after a while, shaking her head once again and taking a sip of her coffee.

Ara couldn't help but feel agitated. She looked at her friends with an alarmed expression, every little thing she had noticed and felt the previous night quickly rushing back to her. Something strange to him? Something that gave them a bad feeling? No, all she had felt by his presence was a supernatural charm, a certain magnetism, this strong and filling atmosphere.

"Are you saying that…he might have killed that person, instead of the man we attacked to save him?" Ara asked, gazing at each one of her friends, preoccupied, chills running through her body.

Elesis and Aisha looked at each other, then at their own laps. It was the magician who broke the silence after a dense air had settled between them. "There's no way we can know for sure. As I said, it's just a feeling. But you spent the entire night with him, didn't you? Didn't you notice anything strange? Didn't he say anything that could sound suspicious?".

She shook her head slowly. "No, we…didn't talk that much. It didn't come across to me as someone dangerous either" she stated, talking carefully, measuring her words. All she received for her words was the heavy silence and the questioning looks of her friends. There was nothing left to say nor was worth pressing further on the matter. None of them knew of anything suspicious or threatening, there was no reason to suspect. Ara glanced towards the redhead, she looked angry and lost, gripping the cup tightly between her hands. If there was someone exuding danger, it was her.

Ara stood up from her seat, walking to the fuel stove at one side of the kitchen. "I'm going to make some tea. Would you like some, Aisha?" she asked without turning to look at them again, she didn't want to. The air was so dense she could have cut it with a knife. Everyone seemed to be lost in their own thoughts and worries, and she couldn't blame them. The questioned girl merely muttered a soft 'yes'. After pouring water inside the kettle and leaving it over the fire, Ara started gathering the herbs for the tea, remaining silent. Her eyes watched the flames dancing under the iron, keeping her arms crossed and a troubled expression spreading all over her face. She heard the chair being dragged and then the strong steps when Elesis left the kitchen. It seemed like nothing good was going to come out of their experience.

That night was like any other, the ball seemingly left behind in the past. The whole group was preparing for duty, each one of them in their own room. Ara put on her light cloth trousers and a simple t-shirt of the same material, everything in black. It was strange and inappropriate for a woman, but necessary. She fixed her hair in a single braid and tied it up in a bun, all of that to make her mobility as swift and comfortable as possible, she didn't need her hair getting on her way. Grabbing her spear Ara left for the hall, where everyone would meet once they were ready.

Elsword, Elesis and Raven had their sword, Aisha her staff, Rena her bow, Chung his guns and Eve had herself. Everything was ready. Before going out, all of them shared looks of determination without saying a word. The plan was, as always, to split up and patrol their own determined locations. The town was small enough for them to find each other if needed, knowing already where everyone was supposed to be. If neither the government nor the security forces were going to do anything about the increasing infestation of demons, they would with their own hands.

The streets were extremely solitary, not a single soul could be seen that night. Not even the waning moon and stars were illuminating the town, only a few streetlights to lead her path. There was an absolute absence, a deep silence. Deciding that it was probably best to watch over the houses and buildings from up high, Ara jumped and climbed through a wall in an alleyway, making her way to the roof easily. Her agility and swiftness were those of an expert martial artist. Away from the streetlights now, she made her way above the houses sheltered by the shadows, not making a sound. She kept walking, glancing down to examine every street, every alleyway, even the last and most hidden corner of the town. Not a single mistake, no detail overlooked could be forgiven. But the streets were as empty as they seemed to be when she left the mansion.

Ara stood straight, making a pause to look around, holding her breath to listen intently to any hint of sound. Nothing. She bit down on her lower lip with worry, frowning slightly. That's when she saw it, a dim light emerging from one of the passages in the residential area near the post office. And she recognized it, too. It was the light that Aisha's staff casted when she wanted to call the group over where she was. Not wasting a second, she ran across the roofs, letting the light guide her way through the darkness.

Jumping off the nearest roof to the light, Ara readied her spear, holding it tightly. Whatever happened, she was ready to face it. But what she found was just Aisha herself, standing alone, gripping her staff nervously. She saw her trembling and closed the distance between them, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder firmly. "What's the matter, Aisha?" she asked her worriedly, an unbreakable serious expression hardening her face.

The magician turned around to face her, fear written all over her features. "I found something" she merely said, pointing out to a spot in the dark. Ara nodded in understanding, knowing that it was too much to expect from her to make a better explanation. She gestured for her to hand her her staff, to which she complied. Walking cautiously in the direction her friend had pointed at, she used the enlightened staff to clear her view. And what she saw was a dead body.

"Aisha, it's really common to see things like this. Why are you so scared?" she questioned her, turning her head to take a glance at her as she kneeled down next to the corpse. Aisha shook her head energetically.

"Look closely" she muttered. Frowning, Ara turned again and approached her face to the body. Then she noticed there were two marks on its neck. They were open circles, but they were dry, no blood was coming out of them and there wasn't any on any other part of the body either, nor in the floor, not anywhere. It was strange, something they had never seen before, that was for sure.

"Aisha, what is this?" she asked, a deep frown darkening her expression. She had an idea, one she didn't dare to say out loud. "Do you think it's…".

"A vampire. That was done by a vampire" Aisha replied with certainty, yet her voice sounded more fitting for announcing a bad prophecy. And maybe it was, in the end.

"But vampires don't exist, Aisha. That's fantasy" she said, but there was no security in her words. It was certainly something they had never witnessed, nor heard about before. Why now?

"Ara, there are demons invading our world and you think vampires are unlikely to exist here too?" she retorted, her voice shaking. It wasn't a scold, it was weak, almost as if she were trying to believe that it was, indeed, unlikely. "What are we going to do? This is a whole different thing!" she shouted, her body still trembling.

Ara understood, it was a terrifying panorama. But no matter what happened, she needed to calm her friend down. She quickly stood up and closed the space between them, taking her in her arms softly, yet firmly. "Shh, don't shout Aisha" she scolded her sweetly, caressing her hair maternally. "Whatever this is, we'll have to face it the same way we have done with everything else. I promise you we'll be alright. We have each other, after all" she cooed reassuringly.

Truth was, she didn't even believe that herself.

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 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Feel free to leave your comments and feedback!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This chapter came out a bit shorter than the others, but you know, adding up more stuff for the sake of length kinda ruins it, I think.**

 **Also, I'd advise you to read it while listening to Mountains by Message to Bears, from the third paragraph. Of course you don't need to, but I wrote it while listening to the song on repeat and...yeah, maybe it'll do some magic.**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

 **I don't own Elsword nor its characters.**

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An unsettling silence took over the lounge, no one dared to lift up their gaze from the floor to look at the others. The fear was manifest. After everyone had finally gathered to Aisha's call, they decided to leave their duty at that. The discovery they had made left everyone moved, shocked, terrified. How would they be able to fight such a thing? Was what all of them were probably thinking. Vampires were called the lords of the night for a reason.

The only one that held a different expression than the rest was Elesis. She was standing away from the group and her face was distorted by anger. Ara stared at her, she was trembling. Maybe her friend was holding something back, something strong. Hatred. It was written all over her face.

Images from a night two weeks away came rushing to her mind. A dark alleyway, screams of pain, the roaring of a shotgun echoing through the quiet night, a white haired man crying with horror, covering his face, bending down next to a corpse, the shotgun aiming at his head. Ara stood up abruptly and left the house in a hurry, she could hear her teammates calling out to her from inside the mansion.

She ran through the desert streets, her feet barely touching the stone. Her heartbeats deafening her ears and only one thought showing up on her mind. She had to know, she had to know what had really happened that night. The cold breeze hit her skin sharply, making her long hair flow messily, getting in her face, pushing her back. Nothing else mattered, she had to know. She could feel herself floating over the ground from time to time, backwaters and blood splashing under her feet, the pumping of her heart leading the rhythm of every step.

She turned into a corner, supporting her hand against the wall to be able to slow down and stop. The dark alleyway in front of her. Only her trained eyes were to be trusted for her to make her way through the shadows. She could see the stain of blood where the man with the shotgun had been standing before they took him down. Kneeling down, she started to crawl on all fours, using her hands to feel her surroundings. There was nothing in there.

Of course, it had been two weeks ago, by then the corpses would have already been taken somewhere else. Ara threw herself to the mountains of garbage piled up at the end of the alleyway, frenetically searching for something in there. But what was she looking for? Clearly, there was nothing there that could be of any help. She let her head hit the stone wall in frustration, closing her eyes strongly, gritting her teeth furiously. She needed to know, more than anything.

Her shadow appeared in front of her, growing bigger against the wall. A shock of fear struck her heart and she cursed herself for not bringing her spear. "Miss?" she heard a deep voice calling from behind. She turned her head back slowly, her beating stopping for a brief second.

"Add Kim" was all she was able to mutter under her breath, letting the words escape through her lips in a whisper. She couldn't move, rooted to the floor by astonishment. He was holding a lit candle in one of his hands. All she could do was stare at him as he closed the distance between them, kneeling down in front of her, the light of the candle casting shadows that deepened the fear in her face.

"Are you alright? Why are you trembling?" he asked her quietly, she hadn't noticed until then. Her whole body was shaking. "What are you doing here this late at night, and alone?" he insisted, keeping his tone low and serious, peering at her face. She looked up at him to meet his eyes, an intense wave of shivers traveling through her body. It was soothing in a strange and disturbing way, yet her heart wouldn't stop threatening to break through her chest.

"The corpse…" she managed to say, out of breath. He looked at her with understanding, pursing his lips.

"They took them away and incinerated them a week ago. It's been getting difficult to find any space on the cemeteries to bury all the bodies they find every morning" he explained softly, gazing directly at her eyes. She recognized the sadness in his. It made her chest tighten.

"I'm sorry…for your loss" her words were weak and doubtful.

"Why are you here?" he asked her curtly almost immediately after the last word had fallen out of her mouth, averting his eyes for the first time. He stood up abruptly, walking over to the middle of the alleyway, where the corpse was when they got there that time. After pouring candle wax on the floor, he stuck the candle on top of it, making sure it stayed in its place as he pressed it down.

"I…I want to know what happened that night" she replied, unsure. She didn't know whether or not it was a good idea to tell him about her thoughts. He was involved, in a way or another. Then she noticed. There where the candle was lighting up the ground, she realized there was no stain of blood. The man they killed had left a pool of blood where he stood, but the other man, the one who was dead when they arrived, had been shot with a gun. He must have left his trace as well, yet there was nothing but dirt.

Add looked at her with a dark expression, piercing through her with his eyes. "What could be there to know? My mast—" he cut himself off. "No, my friend was shot in the head by that man. I was going to be next when you arrived and took him down. That's all there is to it" he added after a brief moment of silence and hesitation. He wasn't looking at her anymore; his gaze was lost in some point of the floor.

Ara looked at him still, gulping, the words stuck in her throat. This time, there was something dark about him, something enigmatic. It was clear to her that he didn't like her questions one bit. And yet a soft 'why' left her mouth without her wanting it. She bit her lip.

A small smirk curved his lips to one side. "Why, I wonder…" he merely said. Getting closer to Ara, he offered her his hand. He was different from the man she had met at the ball. His smile, his courteousness were completely gone, not trying to be charming anymore. But even with a serious face, with a shadow crossing his face, with his curt and cold answers, the charm around him just seemed to increase. He had a wild, dark beauty to him, a mysterious magic. Now more than ever.

She took his hand, its coldness spreading through her skin, and stood up with his help. Ara was reluctant to let go, instead she stared at him in the eyes, longing for the magic that kept her thoughts from drifting to a terrifying reality. Their hands were barely touching, but she was feeling shaken. Her limbs were trembling uncontrollably. She felt his fingers tighten his grip around hers, pulling her against his chest with delicacy. A warm sensation invaded her, despite the cold she felt on her skin. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, she felt his chin at the top of her head.

"Don't tremble" he said in a whisper, his voice sounded afflicted, full of anguish. A knot formed on her throat and she buried her face on his chest, their hands still barely touching. She wasn't sure about whether or not she should trust him. But he had an inebriating scent, a magnetism that pulled her to him every time. And for now, that was enough.

Ara heard a low noise, a pained groan coming out of his throat; she felt his hand tightening on her shoulder, shaking, digging his fingers. She held her breath. He suddenly pushed her away brusquely, taking a few steps back. She saw him gritting his teeth, heard him whimpering quietly.

"I need to go. Please go back to your home" he told her under his breath, managing to get his words to come out through groans. And just like that, he disappeared into the darkness, leaving her standing there, alone and dumbfounded.

A cold breeze flew by and she shivered, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

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 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed!**

 **As always, your comments and feedback are always appreciated.**

 **Until next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Welcome to the fifth chapter!**

 **As always, hope you enjoy :)**

 **I do not own Elsword nor its characters blablaba.**

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Ara found nothing but a single light on when she got back home, coming out of Aisha's room. She was still confused and shocked from what had just happened, not even being able to give a reason to her own behaviors. Storming out of the house like that, searching through the garbage, letting that man hug her, calm her down and allow herself to be soothed by him. Everything seemed unreal to her, ever since that night at the castle everything had been turned upside down with the discoveries she and her friends had made, the new feelings and all the unanswered questions that loaded her mind. And yet, nothing had really happened. They were just emotions, sensations, intuitions and nothing more. No proofs, no actual facts she could rely on even if only to stand firm in reality.

She knocked on the door softly in the middle of an oppressive silence. Hearing her friend's permission to go in, she walked into her room, illuminated only by the faint light of a gas lamp placed on the nightstand. Aisha was reading a book, the only thing that could keep her awake that late at night, but she left it aside immediately after taking a look at Ara.

"God Ara, are you alright? What happened?!" she asked with a voice full of worry and alarm. Ara's face was crossed by a deep shadow of anguish; her hands were covered in dirt. She walked over the magician and collapsed on her bed, crawling next to her and burying her face in the girl's chest.

"I don't know, Aisha, I'm so tired" she told her with a thin voice, barely audible. "I wanted to see someone, I'm so lucky you're awake" she added, her voice trailing off as she closed her eyes. Aisha wrapped her arms around her, cuddling her gently.

"It's okay dear, you're with me now" she cooed, rocking back and forth softly as if to cradle her. "Just tell me what happened, let everything out".

"When we were here after going on patrol, I suddenly remembered the things that happened back when we saved that man. I thought I could find something that could clarify things a little bit so I rushed out and went back to that alley. I didn't find anything, of course, but Add Kim appeared there to leave a candle where his friend died, and he found me there. I asked him what had happened but he didn't tell me anything besides what we already know. I saw the stain of blood of that man we killed to protect him, but…" she cut herself, hesitant, feeling like she had to prepare herself before continuing with her story. "There was no more blood, not even where the first corpse was. And Add was…acting so strange" she said, falling silent and burying her face against her teammate even more.

Aisha listened to her with attention, caressing her hair all that time, pondering her words. "Strange how?" she asked, frowning slightly.

"I don't know, he hugged me so I would stop trembling and then, suddenly, he pushed me back and said he had to go. He looked really pained, like he was suffering. It was really abrupt" she explained with a shaky voice. She knew the only thing she could do right now was to seek support from a close friend.

Aisha nodded, remaining silent for a while as she thought about what had been said. "So you say…there was no blood from the corpse we found that day. Are you thinking it could be related to what we discovered today?" she asked, trying to be as cautious as possible.

"I don't know, but…maybe" she said, not wanting to confirm it as a reality. "Do you think he was a vampire, Aisha? What killed him was a bullet, so he wasn't drained to death by one" she paused, unsure of her own words, afraid to keep darkening the subject even further. "But vampires do have blood, right? Then why? Why wasn't there any?" she kept throwing questions at her friend, desperate for answers.

"They do have blood, Ara. Some people say they use it to transform the people they bite into vampires, and also that it has the power of healing" Aisha explained. "But if he was a vampire, how come a bullet in the head could kill him? And why was he completely drained? I don't really know" she added, releasing a sigh. She had some answers, but not all of them. Of course everything Ara was saying made her question a lot of things herself.

"Maybe it means that someone…took all the blood from him after he was shot, before it could get spilled on the ground" she said. "But Add was the only one there besides the man with the shotgun. Does that mean that…?" she added, trailing off as she realized the implications of her words. She sat down on the bed hurriedly, startling her friend. Her eyes wide open, her hands shaking Aisha's shoulders. "Or maybe…maybe the other guy was a vampire, and he shot him and then drank all the blood, and then, and then…" she spoke frantically, trying her best to explain it in a way that wouldn't mean the man she had been so dangerously close to was actually a threat.

"Ara, I understand that you're upset. And believe me, I'm as confused as you are. But I think it's time for us to get some rest now, we'll get into that again once we have more proof, okay?" she said in an attempt of reassuring her, calm her down. "You can sleep with me tonight if you want" she smiled, patting the side of the bed next to her.

The next day, Ara had a resolve. If she wouldn't be able to know exactly what had happened the day they met Add, then she was at least going to figure out what they were facing. She told herself that morning, in front of the mirror, that she couldn't keep letting all of this get to her, she had to be strong. No matter what happened, she wasn't going to back up.

She was heading for the library, people walking past her as if nothing was happening in their town, with smiley faces and carefree attitudes, some of them with their minds clouded by work. The town during the day and the night seemed like completely different worlds. She almost couldn't believe she was walking the same streets that led her to horrifying discoveries just hours ago. Everyone walked over the same stones that had been stained with blood so many times.

Ara turned a corner, now closer to her destination. That street wasn't really crowded, it was a common thing to find no more than three or four people walking around since it was short and only had bars that weren't open in the morning. That day was no exception, and she wasn't surprised of finding herself alone, with only the murmur of activity coming from its perpendicular streets. She then saw something that caught her attention. There was a tall man supporting his back against a wall, bending over himself, covering his face. He had grey skin.

It felt like she was being held down on her spot by an invisible force, unable to move, almost incapable of breathing. It couldn't be, could it? It couldn't be _him._ Her stomach was like tied up in a knot, constricting her, the air stuck in her throat. _White hair_. Suddenly all that affliction building up in her guts turned into something darker, an infuriating sensation. She started to shake with anger, thoughts of a different time clouding her mind like a storm.

" _You left me"_

" _You betrayed me"_

" _You left us, betrayed us"_

" _You killed everyone"_

" _You disappeared"_

Her heart was pumping in her ears and she could feel all the veins in her body twitching, her blood being poisoned by the resentment, the rage, the disappointment.

" _How dare you"_

Moved almost by pure instinct she ran towards the man and threw herself against him violently, grabbing his shoulder to force him to stand straight and face her, smashing his body against the wall he was leaning on. She was faced with a deep, beastly growl and dark blood was splashed on her face. The veins on his face were so bulgy she would have been afraid of them exploding if she hadn't been as blinded by anger as she was. His eyes were of a bright red that glanced at her full of a murderous instinct.

She cursed, first under her breath and then out loud, shouting, screaming.

"Damn it!" she shouted over and over again, screaming as the head of the demon collided with the wall multiple times under her hands, splattering blood everywhere. Her voice was almost tearing her throat. She didn't stop until hot tears started to stream from her eyes, mixing up with the black stains on her skin.

Leaning her head against the one between her blood stained hands, she cried herself to exhaustion.

" _Where are you?"._

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 **A/N: I have something to point out.**

ferdiewinardihavisakwee : **I never read twilight or watched the movie, I never really wanted to for all the horrible critiques made to the story. So I don't really know how to take that review ;_;. But I promise no one is going to sparkle in this fanfic.**

 **As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **Please let me know how you feel about it!**

 **Until next time.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I know this chapter is even shorter than the two previous ones, that were already short.**

 **But this one is different so please don't hate me.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

 **I don't own Elsword nor its characters bla.**

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The two men walked side by side through the abandoned passages of the nocturnal world, sheltered by the shadows of the sleeping town. Not a single noise could be heard apart from the stray cats that found their home in the darkness, and maybe that's why the sound of their firm steps was starting to become more and more deafening every second. He had been avoiding this day for years, but it was no longer possible for him to keep trusting on the kindness of his caretaker. It was about time for him to become finally independent.

He followed the master's lead without questioning it, getting further away from home. With a signal of the old man's hand, they made their way into a dark alley where their presences could be completely covered by the black cloak of that moonless night.

"Remember, young one, it's completely and utterly important that you learn to control yourself. We are different from the beasts, so it's necessary that you don't allow that part of you take the lead. You can drink, but don't try to dig up on the flesh further" the older man explained with a serene voice, full of wisdom. "I did not raise a savage. Don't disappoint me".

He nodded, already knowing what his mentor wanted to taught him. He knew perfectly well and that kind of decontrol was exactly the thing that scared him the most. Not being able to fight the beast.

Strong steps echoed in the middle of the silence, foreign steps. Both of them became alert, attentive to the presence getting closer to them, not moving an inch. A tall man appeared by the entrance of the alley, standing imposing in front of them.

"I see you've become careless over the years. I didn't think I would actually be able to fight you" the strange man spoke arrogant. The elder narrowed his eyes.

That's when he saw it. The man was carrying a shotgun. He couldn't help but let out a quiet snicker. Did he really pretend to take them down with a bullet? Didn't he know what he was facing? But the attitude of his mentor confused him. Glancing over at him, he realized that he was agitated, defensive. "Be careful, Add" he whispered to him, not taking his eyes off the man in front of them.

"Why? It's just a gun. That can't kill us, right?" he responded, talking as low as he could.

The man laughed exaggeratedly loud, charging up his weapon with the bullets he took out of a bag in his belt. "I see you're a newcomer, kid. Didn't that old bastard teach you anything?" he said, still laughing. "Let me enlighten you then. This bullets are covered in holy water".

If his face could have been any paler, it would have in that precise moment. He was well familiarized with death, but the idea of dying himself was something that had slowly disappeared from his mind through the course of the years, and suddenly every paradigm he had had about his own immortality changed, replaced by a deep fear.

He looked over to his master with absolute horror, realizing that he could be about to lose yet another important person in his life. The one that turned him into what he was now, the one that received him when he had nowhere to go, no one to go to, the one that had raised him and cared for him, feeding him when he was incapable of doing it himself. And now, because of him, because he wanted to be trained towards autonomy, his life was in danger.

It was probably the most reckless thing he had done in his entire life, but every muscle pushed him to protect what was precious to him. He threw himself to the man holding the shotgun, desperate to change their destiny; knowing that, if he was fast enough and used his abilities right, he could still stand a chance.

At that moment time seemed to slow down. He saw the man aiming his gun at him in slow motion, sense their imminent proximity as his body rushed forward. He felt his own face distorting in horror as the body of his mentor, his second father, blocked his own throwing a shadow over him. He heard the sound of the shotgun being fired, the wrenching scream of pain of the old man covering him, protecting him yet again.

And even then, abruptly, the only thing he could perceive drowning his senses was that overwhelming smell of blood. His interiors felt as if they were boiling, a heat he hadn't felt for the longest time, and then the beast. His biggest fear taking over his body, blinding him, invading his mind and shutting it off. He saw himself as if from the outside swooping over the fallen elder, holding his cold head between his hands he brought his mouth to the hole in his forehead.

He sucked without a pause, letting the cold and sticky liquid slide through his throat, filling his mouth as he devoured uncontrollably, stopping only when there was no more blood to suck in and his hunger had been satisfied. His face was now covered with red stains that dripped over the corpse under him, and he licked it all off.

Not even realizing that hot tears had started running down his cheeks, he stayed next to the dead body of his only friend, his gaze going past him, lost in nothingness.

"Pathetic" he heard the man say with a snicker. "Scum like you doesn't deserve to live" he said, aiming his gun at the sobbing boy.

He covered his face, in shame, in terror. A loud scream came out from his throat. A loud thud, a suffocated scream, and then silence. Looking up, a girl offering him her hand with a kind smile. His shaky hands reached to her and an unexpected warmth spread through his skin. There was a peculiar smell, a sweetness that invaded his senses. He could feel the beast wanting to rise once again, so he shook off her hand with panic.

And he ran, and ran, and ran until getting lost. He threw himself on his knees.

And he cried, and cried, and cried.

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 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Let me know what you think, your comments are always appreciated!**

 **Also** nanashimai **&** InsanePurpleLove **you're really sweet**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm really sorry for this update to come up a little bit later than the usual. But you know...life happened.**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **I don't own Elsword nor its characters.**

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Winter was coming; it had been becoming more and more noticeable with the cold wind turning stronger with each day of the passing week. She had stayed all those nights alone in the mansion, contemplating the sky changing its colors above the town from the roof under her window, from sunset to night and from night to sunrise, welcoming the coming season her own way. Her friends had insisted she took her time to rest and settle down, and she had complied more to avoid fighting with them than because she really wanted to stop going with the group on patrol. She knew they just were worried about her.

All the events of the past week felt distant now, only reaching to them like from the memories of a dream. At that point, the behavior she had held during those days came across to her as ridiculous. Now that she had given herself time to sit down and think everything through she felt more calm and collected. Of course, she felt shocked and scared; so many things had happened in such a short period of time that she didn't know how to react. But now she knew better. She wasn't facing any of those things alone. In a way or another, they were going to figure everything out together, she was sure of it.

But as much as her mood had gotten better over the week, staying alone every night started to make Ara feel uneasy. She enjoyed going out on duty with her teammates in part because she really liked spending the night outside, walking under the black sky's soft lights was soothing for her, feeling the cold breeze in her skin, watching the town sleeping peacefully. She figured it was alright to just take a walk. If her friends were to ask her why she had left the house when they had agreed for her not to during those days, she'd just tell them that it wasn't her intention to fight that time, that she needed to breathe fresh air.

Ara got dressed and left her room after grabbing her spear, just in case. She walked down the empty and dark hallways, glancing at every unoccupied room as she passed each door, it almost felt desolating. The streets were as lonesome as the mansion, but she felt welcomed in their silence, that darkness was familiar.

She took her time, feeling the walls of stone under her fingers as each house and building was left behind, listening to the whispering of the wind between the leaves of the trees in the sidewalk, the caterwauling of stray cats that made the town their home, watched the shadows casted by the moonlight. It had been a long time since she had walked through those streets without the serious mood of their duty, and it felt relaxing. She took a turn at some point, wanting to get lost.

Suddenly, a muffled scream filled the silence, making her shiver. She could tell it was near so she walked towards its source, mustering up her courage. Struggling sounds, she watched her surroundings, it was clear by that point that it was a fight. The wind felt gelid, she sensed all the other sounds of the night disappearing. Another couple of steps and she was there, she saw it right in front of her. She couldn't move.

A tall man held an unmoving body between his arms, limbs and head hanging, an expression of horror frozen on the corpse. The man's face was buried in the body's neck, his long white hair hiding his profile. She stood there, watching in astonishment, unable to move. He left the body on the ground with delicacy, supporting its back against the wall, and turned around. Mouth and chin covered in blood. And she recognized him.

Ara couldn't take her eyes off his mouth, completely covered of dark red. Until he took a few steps closer to her and the encounter with his eyes became inevitable. He got closer and closer, and she didn't back up. His eyes looked down at hers intensely, not a sign of doubt or fear showing up on them, just a calm sorrow, a collected spirit.

"I assume it is your obligation to kill me now" he spoke with a deep and gentle voice once they were finally facing each other. "If you cut my head, and keep it separated from my body, you can end this now" he added, piercing through her eyes with determination.

Without a word, Ara lifted her spear and placed it next to his pale neck. She held it firmly between her hands, grazing its edge against his skin. Looking at him, she saw no more than a blank expression, his arms by his sides, no intention to move. She let the minutes pass, a dense silence form around them, watching him, trying to understand. The spear fell from her hands and hit the ground with a thud.

"I can't" she whispered quietly, honestly. Ara knew how powerful vampires were, she knew that he could have easily attacked her, killed her, or tried to escape. He didn't. He stood in front of her motionlessly, waiting for her to make the move and kill him. "I can't kill someone that is not fighting" she added. Not knowing why, she felt overwhelmed by sadness, with pity. "Do you wish to die?".

He glanced down at her in silence for a minute and she felt her heart beating wildly against her chest. "There is no other just way for a monster to end. You and your friends protect this town, don't you? Is there anything else to do? I'm a threat, I'm killing people" he said finally.

"But why are you so willing to die? Why aren't you fighting, resisting?" she asked softly, her voice small. She was standing right in front of a man she had seen taking the life of a person. But she didn't feel in danger, she felt drawn to him, intrigued by his willingness.

"Because it's the best for everyone" he declared. And in that moment, he looked almost fragile. There was a tint of sadness in his voice, of resignation. She felt like that wasn't the only reason; it wasn't a matter of justice to him. There was a tragedy hidden inside of him, showing on his voice, that she could sense just by looking at his mien, listening to him. She felt the urge of welcoming him into her arms, like you would with a crying, vulnerable child.

"Isn't there any other way?" she asked with a thread of hope. Maybe she wouldn't have to end his life that way, maybe she wouldn't have to kill someone so utterly surrendered to such a cruel end. He could have killed her right there to protect himself; it would have been so easy. And yet he didn't, that had to count for something. She owed him at least her mercy.

A husky snicker came through his lips and a brief, twisted smile appeared on his face just to fade away that same moment. "No one is going to let me take just a little bit of their blood, just by asking nicely" he said, cleaning the blood off his face with his sleeve as he started walking, going past her as if nothing had happened. She felt urged to do something; she couldn't let him go just like that. Even if she couldn't bring herself to kill him, that didn't mean that allowing him to be free and keep killing others to feed himself was okay. So right in that moment she took a decision, one that could change her life forever.

"Wait!" she shouted, hoping he would still be there. She heard his steps coming to a stop. "No one has to suffer so much. There has to be a way…" she spoke, not even daring to look back at him.

"I told you already that…" he started, being cut off by her.

"I know what you said. But…If I decide to sacrifice myself, then…" she paused, turning around to face him. "Then is it enough if I let you drink a little bit of my blood, just by asking nicely?" Ara knew very well that it could be a risky decision, that she didn't know exactly what it could lead to. But maybe, if she took all that weight on her shoulders, if she sacrificed herself for a bigger cause, everything would be alright.

A brief expression of surprise spread through his face for a second, just to be replaced by an irritated seriousness the next moment. He closed the distance between them with firm movements, looking into her eyes with a shiny glance, filled with a strong feeling. His imposing presence, his tall body towering in front of her didn't intimidate her. A new resolve had set its roots inside of her and she didn't back up.

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into" he warned her in a serious tone, deep, almost a whisper. "This is not something you can play with".

"I know" she said just as serious, determination showing on her face and a new shine sparkling in her eyes. "But tell me. Would it be enough? If I let you…drink out of me would it be enough to stop killing?" she asked once again, her heartbeats becoming stronger as the anxiety took over her insides.

"Why would you want to do that?" he questioned with a voice that almost mocked her. Distrustful.

"I can't let you kill innocent people, that's my duty. But…" she started firmly, for the first time gazing deeply into his eyes, taking a step closer to him. "But I really feel like you don't deserve to die either" she stated, full of conviction. A man that had been willing to die in order to protect people from himself couldn't be bad. She knew it couldn't be just black and white.

She noticed his face going blank, she could see the surprise on his expression and it spread a delightful sensation through her body. It was the only way she could help.

Imitating her, he took a step closer to her as well. His eyes staring intensely into her face, a faint smile curving his lips just slightly.

"Then, Ara…" he started, talking solemnly. "Will you let me feed myself from you?" he asked, making honor to her proposal. Their eyes not breaking contact for a second. She stared back at him with confidence, without fear.

"Yes".

And like that, the contract was sealed. She knew very well that from that point on, there was no turning back. For the first time in days she felt like she had made the right decision, no regrets clouded her mind. From the very first moment she saw him she had felt an enigmatic source attracting her to him, wanting to cross their paths. Thousands of feelings and strange sensations had invaded her ever since that night of the ball, but fear was never one of them when being around him, she was never scared of him hurting her, not even now that the truth had been discovered. If anything, he inspired a deep sorrow in her. She finally knew exactly what had been hiding under that magnetic gaze all that time, what had confused her so much in other occasions.

When the sun rose the next day, only a weak light escaped the shield of the grey clouds that had taken over the sky. It was cloudy and cold when she left the mansion after lying to her friends about her destination. If any of them were to find out about him, they would with no doubt go in his hunt. She couldn't allow that, she had made a compromise and was determined to protect. Even a vampire, even him.

She wrapped her arms around herself, enjoying the coldness of the air. Anxiety and nervousness started building up inside her stomach, making her body feel as if a hundred ants were walking on her skin. As she walked the path to the old castle, she remembered the day of the ball. How that night everything seemed to have a magical aura, an undeniable charm that kept her in expectation and awe that whole time. Going the same way now felt almost nostalgic, and when she could finally spot the big castle rising over the hills it almost felt like she was going back to a special place, one that held many invaluable memories.

Under the light of the day it looked just like an old, deteriorated castle. She couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed, seeing it deprived of the magic that enveloped it that night.

Once in front of the big gates she called with the old, rusty knocker, taking a step back. She waited for a few minutes until she heard light and hurried steps approaching, the gates opened and a short maid appeared from the other side. "Is Sir Add at home?" she asked politely, even though she knew perfectly well that there wasn't any way he wouldn't be. The maid made her go inside and wait in the drawing room while she called Add.

Ara sat down on the red velvet sofa, crossing her legs. She couldn't help but ran her hand through the soft surface, thinking that the time had came for her to do something that never even crossed her mind in her entire life. But she was more expectant than scared. Steps could be heard echoing in the large room, taking her out of her thoughts. She looked up and their eyes instantly met, feeling her chest being tied up in a not. For a second, she almost couldn't breathe. All the windows were covered with thick, dark curtains, but the chandeliers were illuminating the room and his face looked almost majestic under their lights. Images from the night of the ball coming hurriedly to her mind, recalling all the sensations he had caused on her ever since that day.

She stood up and grabbed the sides of her dress, making a short curtsy. "Good morning, Sir" she said politely, her voice soft and calm.

"Ara" he replied, bowing slightly as well. "I beg you, please refer to me as Add. There is no need to make this even more awkward for the both of us, is there?" he added, smiling faintly as he walked towards her. "Take a seat".

"As you wish" she said, taking his invitation and sitting down once again, next to him.

"Honestly, I didn't think you were actually going to come. And this soon" he spoke once again, looking at her with a smile. The chevalier was back, and it sent chills down through her spine. "Were you that excited?" he asked, teasing her.

"I was, indeed" she answered with honesty, her stomach filling with a light tingle. "You'd have to agree with me, this is a life changing event" she added, making a smile of her own.

"And you'd have to excuse me for not being able to do so. I have never been in the position you are now" he retorted, making his smile wider as it twisted to a side. His eyes shone with a spark of intelligence and confidence. Ara laughed wholeheartedly at their exchange. Talking to him like that felt somehow refreshing, like nothing had ever happened, like he wasn't going to drink from her blood.

"Oh, pardon me" she said with an honest smile. He smiled back at her just as sincerely. They stared at each other for a few seconds and, unlike other times, no tension arose between them. It felt like something important had changed right at that moment. "So…how does it work?" she asked after a few moments of just enjoying the silence.

"No way in particular. Just tell me when you're ready and I'll lead you" he answered, his face turning serious. Ara nodded.

"I'm ready now" she declared, holding her hands together on her lap, playing with her fingers.

"Follow me then, please" he said as he stood up, offering her his arm. She did the same and accepted his invitation silently, placing her hand delicately in his bent arm. They walked out of the room and into the principal hallway where a wide staircase took its place in the middle, covered with a dark red carpet. He led her upstairs to a room by the end of the corridor, a tall wooden door blocking their way.

She released his arm from her grip and he opened the door with his key, moving to the side and motioning for her to come in first. It was clearly the principal bedroom, with a big and imposing four-poster bed at the middle, covered with a dark purple bedspread and a big amount of black cushions neatly organized. Thick black curtains covered the tall windows and old paintings decorated the wall. There was a door leading to a balcony, and next to it was a sofa just like the one in the drawing room. Ara was taken aback by how majestic the room was, even compared to the ones in Chung's mansion.

She walked towards the bed and leaned her back against one of its pillars, waiting for him. Add went closer to her after closing the door once again and leaving the key on top of an old wooden drawer next to the entrance. He looked intently into her eyes.

"I'm going to ask you once again. Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked her with a soft voice. She merely nodded in response, looking back at him with determination shining in her eyes. "Very well, then" he said, leaning towards her, closing the distance between them even more until it almost didn't exist.

His cold fingers ran down through her neck, tracing its shape with the tips before leaning in until his forehead touched her jaw. "Stay still" he whispered. She could feel his breath touching her skin when he spoke, and a chill made her whole body shiver. He placed his hand on her shoulder and wrapped his arm around her waist gently, barely touching her. Ara felt his lips touching her neck and she couldn't help but feel flustered, a strange heat starting to spread through her upper body. She closed her eyes firmly and brought her hands to his chest, looking for some kind of security.

Something sharp made contact with her skin, she felt how his fangs pierced slowly through her flesh. A deep pain was shot from her neck, running down through her spine as the two wounds were opened, and then a strange sensation. She endured, turning her hands into fists against him. Blood was flowing out of her and she started to feel weak and dizzy. Her skin turned pale.

A lot of different sensations piled up inside of her all at once, overwhelming her. His cold fingers on her shoulder, a gentle touch, the comfortable security of his arm supporting her. The contact of his lips against her neck made her feel like her skin was burning at their touch, despite the gelid coldness of his body. She could sense his fangs perfectly where they were buried, opening her flesh, her blood leaving her body. They created an intense pain and a pleasant sensation at the same time, flooding inside her body. It felt like an extremely intimate moment, and that made her shudder.

He took his fangs out of her flesh slowly, delicately, removing what was left of blood on her skin with his lips and running his tongue over them. "It's sweet" he said, a smile of satisfaction and delight spreading on his lips. When he backed up a little, she felt the strength gradually leaving her body.

Ara felt herself losing balance, his strong arms catching her right before her mind went black and she lost consciousness.

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 **A/N: By all means, please feel free of leaving any comments or feedback you may have for this chapter and tell me what you think!**

 **I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Until next time :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: So there you have it, the 8th chapter.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

 **I don't own Elsword nor its characters blabla whatever.**

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Ara opened her eyes slowly, finding herself in a dark room and some sort of dark wooden ceiling above her, curtains hanging from its sides. She sat up carefully, still not completely aware of her surroundings, and noticed she had been lying down on a big bed. Right, she could remember now how she passed out after he drank from her for who knows how long, and she was still on the castle. Examining the room she spotted him sitting on the sofa by the balcony, reading a book. He was leaning partially over his side, supporting the elbow on the sofa arm, his legs crossed and a calm, focused expression on his face, softening his features. Once again a special aura enveloping him, as if his existence were completely independent from what surrounded him. She couldn't help but stare.

He probably noticed, because in that instant he looked up at her, meeting her gaze.

"Ah, you woke up" he spoke softly, his voice slightly raspy. He turned his focus to the book in his hands once again. 'History of Medicine' could be read on its cover. "Did you have a good sleep?".

"Hardly, I woke up feeling like blood was drained from my body. Maybe I've been bitten by a mosquito" she replied, noticing a small smile forming on his lips. "How long did I pass out?" she asked him as she got up from the bed, fixing her slightly rumpled clothes.

"An hour or so. It's still early, so don't worry" he said, closing the book and leaving it aside before getting up and walking towards her. "Tell me, Ara, now that you woke up…will you let me have a little bit more?" he asked in a whisper, staring at the marks on her neck. A strange smile curving his lips.

"I passed out after you did it just now. Could it be that you want me to fall unconscious again?" she retorted with a half smile twisting her mouth, placing both of her hands on the hips. "Just what are you thinking?" she questioned.

"With what kind of person are you mistaking me for?" he answered, bringing a hand to his chest and arching his brows. "How rude" this time he was grinning again. A brief silence was held as they stared at each other, before he spoke once again. "I assume you must be feeling fairly weak now, aren't you? I'll ask the cook to prepare something for you" he said.

"Why do you keep food here, even a cook, if you don't eat?" she asked him with a surprised tone, furrowing her brows slightly.

"Because of the social events I need to host from time to time, mostly. You didn't think I serve blood to my guests or did you?" he explained, shrugging his shoulders. "Now come with me".

Ara followed after him through the long corridor, examining all the doors they passed by in their way back to the stairs. It was such a big place for so few people using it, even if he had personal working there, they weren't nearly enough in number to give a use to all of the rooms in the castle.

"This place looks like it could be good to open a hotel" she commented, more like thinking out loud. One of the rooms she saw had its door partially open. Even from where she was, she could see an old, thick book laying open over a reading desk in the middle of the room. For some reason, its sight sent a chill through her body.

"I wouldn't like that. Receiving a big group of people once a month is more than enough" he replied, taking her out of the trance she had fallen into for a brief moment. "Besides, who would want to lodge in a hotel hosted by a vampire?" he added with a snicker.

"It could be the first step towards a vampire-friendly community. Think about it. 'Local vampire opens up a luxurious hotel for a cheap price, in return for all the damage caused to the town'" she said, using a daydreamer like tone and gesturing with her hands for the last part, giggling softly.

She heard him laugh under his breath. "Not too long ago people still burned women in public places for suspecting them of being witches. So I don't think it's such a good idea".

Ara lifted the bottom of her dress and supported her hand gently on the handrail to go down through the stairs. A maid was passing in front of them in the first floor when Add called out to her.

"Eleonor, could you do me a favor? Go ask the cook to prepare a meal for our guest, please" he told her with a soft voice. The old woman nodded silently before leaving in the opposite direction.

He led her to a small salon next to the dining room, where they could wait until the food was served. They sat down next to each other in a sofa. Even if he kept that strange aura with him, a distant demeanor and a certain coldness hidden in his eyes, she was starting to feel like it was okay being with him, more comfortable. It was not just that undeniable magnetism that attracted her attention helplessly, unexplainably. To her, there was even a trace of honesty in his gaze.

Ara entertained her eyes looking at the countless books stored in the room's tall shelves, all of them old enough to have their pages of a yellowish color and smell like dust, she figured. Some of them had the title erased from their spine, but overall, they were perfectly conserved.

"So, how many times a day do you need to drink?" she asked him after a few minutes of complete silence had passed, still looking at the books.

"Well, it obviously depends on the quantity. But I'd say twice a day should be enough given the amount of blood I took out from you earlier" he explained, holding his inclined head with his hand as he glared at his lap. "I'm satisfied for now, but that wasn't enough to keep me full the entire day, you see".

"If you're satisfied now, then why did you ask me to feed you again?" she questioned him with a slight tone of indignation in her voice, this time turning her head to focus on him.

"I told you already, didn't I?" he started, the strange smile forming once again on his lips as he glanced back at her, meeting her eyes with a certain spark illuminating his. "Your blood is sweet".

The maid walked into the salon to announce that the meal was served, gesturing for them to go into the contiguous room. She gave him a sideway look before following him into the dining room. It was evident as soon as she walked in that the cook must have been a very talented person, because both the look and the smell of the food served over the long table were simply exquisite. It was a full meal, soup, salad, main course and dessert. It was obvious that several people had helped for them to be able of pulling out such complete display.

"Oh my, this looks delicious. It wasn't necessary so much work just for me, I appreciate it. Thank you" she said, talking to the maid who left the room immediately after performing a short bow.

They sat down at the table, Ara in front of the food and Add right next to her. She ate up silently and slowly, concentrating on enjoying the magnificent dishes prepared for her. Certainly, that kind of luxuries weren't something that she was used to. Once again, the comparison between the functioning of this castle and Chung's mansion fell short, even if the owner of her home was an important dignitary of the town. And that made her curious. How did Add manage to have so many resources if he couldn't have a real job?

"Tell me, Add, what do you do for a living?" she asked him, not being able to hold those questions inside her mind anymore.

"I stay inside all day and read. You couldn't possibly think I go out in the middle of the day to work, yes?" he answered, arching his brows slightly. "And I don't do any sort of work performed during the night, if that's what you're implying" he added with a soft snicker.

"Of course not, I'm no fool" she retorted, frowning. "But this is a big castle, you have a good amount of people under your service, you buy food, you hold balls once a month and overall, manage to live here without working. How come?" she explained her question further, gazing at him attentively.

"The fortune that allows all of that to happen is inherited, of course. Besides, I receive noblemen here from time to time, when they need a trusted doctor. And they pay, obviously" he said nonchalantly, shrugging it off as if it was nothing.

"You? You are a doctor?" she asked surprised.

"I've read a lot about medicine, ever since I was little, that's why" he said curtly, directing his attention to the flower vase in front of him, playing with the crimson petals of the roses between his fingers.

"Funny how you learnt so much about the human body, yet you don't even have a functioning one of your own" she commented with a soft and short laugh, getting back into eating her food.

He snickered.

Once the meal was over and the empty plates were retired of the table, they made their goodbye. She left the castle with a warm sensation spreading all over her body, feeling herself light. Even if she managed to speak to him freely, everything was still surreal to her. She couldn't completely believe that all of that was actually happening, happening to her, and if it was possible for her to behave normally it was probably because she still felt herself being in some kind of strange dream.

Before entering the mansion, she made sure her hair was covering her neck, knowing that those two small marks were going to give her away immediately if someone were to notice. Luckily, she didn't run into anyone when going to her bedroom. Surely all of her friends were busy in their own affairs, probably locked inside each of their rooms.

But just when she was about to open the door to her room, she sensed someone approaching and turned her head to find Elesis next to her.

"Good morning, Ara" she spoke dryly.

"Good morning to you too, Elesis" she answered the same way. A slight tension formed between them.

"I see you finished your business in town already".

"Yes". Her friend sent her one last glance, looking at her from head to toe, before walking past her and leaving. She didn't know why, but ever since the ball they attended together, Elesis had been acting strange, especially towards her. Cold looks, curt answers, long silences. It made her somewhat anxious.

Ara spent the rest of the day in her room, sleeping. She was feeling extremely tired and maybe a long nap would help her regain her energies for the nocturnal duty. Dozing off almost immediately after touching her bed, the rest of the day passed without her noticing, slipping from her hands. The mansion was oddly quiet all that time, as if the entire building had decided to take a break and sleep too. And like that, night time came along, covering the place with its shadows.

When the time came, she got ready along with everyone else in the group to go out and make their usual patrol over town. She was especially eager about it that day, since it had been almost a week ago when she and her teammates agreed about her taking a break from duty. Adrenaline was building up inside of her already, her heart beating rapidly with excitement. That night, she held her spear with more firmness.

The setting for their routine was the usual, separate ways and assigned locations. Everything was the same as it used to be, and yet a dark aura enveloped the whole group. None of them said a word or even exchanged a mere glance between each other before leaving the mansion. There was a certain tension lingering in the air that made Ara feel unsettled, uneasy. It was as if something really big was being held within them, something about to explode.

The same way everything was just like it had to be, Ara followed the same path she had traced over the years, recognizing the same houses, the same shops, the same streetlights illuminating the streets dimly. Except for one thing.

Approximately two blocks away from the mansion was a figure, leaning its back against a wall in a corner house. She recognized it too, that long white hair tied up in a high ponytail, those brilliant magenta eyes, that unmistakable white suit. Those eyes staring deeply at her, scrutinizing her as she got closer slowly.

"What are you doing here?" she found herself asking with a low tone, almost a murmur. He was supposed to not hunt for people anymore, so why was he there?

"Waiting" he responded merely, piercing through her eyes with his intent gaze. This time, there was something unsettling in the way he looked at her, something out of place. She felt her heart beating wildly. "I want more" he added, speaking in a whisper, getting closer to her slowly, closing the distance between them until their foreheads were nearly touching.

She stared at him right back, noticing the color of his eyes turning a bright red.

"Please" he insisted, almost begging. A sorrowful tone darkening his voice. He grabbed her shoulders gently, weakly, buried his face in her neck.

Ara felt something hot touching her skin, something wet dripping onto her. Tears.

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 **A/N: I couldn't help but feel like they were talking about breastfeeding in the parts referring to the blood sucking. Sorry for putting that in your minds.**

 **So anyway, let's go with the reviews:**

nanashimai : **Honestly, you're such a cutie . Thanks to you for making my day better with your comments!**

Artemicon : **I will, I will (:**

GirlyTurtle : **Hey, it HAD a reason, like when people faint when donating blood and that kinda stuff. Anyway, I'm really glad you enjoyed it**

 **By all means, don't hesitate to leave your review, feedback, comments, impressions, feelings, hit me up with a pm or whatever. Everything is fine and welcomed and appreciated!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **See you soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey, so it's been a pretty long time. I'm really sorry for not updating the fanfic sooner, but if I have to be completly honest, I didn't really feel like continuing it. Because of a bunch of reasons, actually, personal ones and others not so much. But whatever. I had a conversation today that kinda pushed me to keep writing it, so expect more frequent chapters from now on, just like before!**

 **I just hope you still want to read it.**

 **Also, I apologize if this chapter is shorter than the rest. But I wanted it to be like a transition chapter, so that in the next one I can have more stuff going on.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and keep supporting this chapter like you had before!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **I do not own Elsword nor the characters blabla.**

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Quiet sobs filled the air that chilly night, every other sound seeming to mute itself to let the sorrowful man cry in peace. The image of the collected gentleman shattering in front of her eyes, leaving place to a mere desperate soul struggling against itself, a heavy weight crushing its spirit. She felt the tremor of his body against hers, the warm tears wetting her skin and his distress shaking her from the bones.

Ara held him in her arms with gentle touch, not fearing the dangerous proximity of his fangs to her own flesh, welcoming him, offering her warmth. She moved down slowly, taking him with her until they were kneeling on the stone ground and embraced him strongly, providing the refuge he needed. She let him cry; knowing already that the deep anguish came from within himself and all she could do was to be there and be his witness. Whichever part of him came to be the winner of that battle depended solely on the broken man between her arms.

So she waited patiently, not asking any questions, awaiting for the conqueror to reach the surface and present itself. Soon enough the quietness of his body and the vague trace of lonesome sobs gave away the answer, telling her that the ravenous beast had retreated for now.

"Have you calmed down?" she asked him finally after the silence had settled between them once more and the sobbing sounds were no more than a sad memory. He moved away slowly, keeping his face down until the remaining tears on his cheeks were removed, using his sleeve.

"How pathetic was that" he spoke huskily and a quiet snicker escaped his lips.

"Just a little" she replied with a mocking tone, an eyebrow arched and a sided smile twisting her mouth just slightly. She stood up, patting the dust out of her clothes before grabbing the spear once more. "As much as it pains me to leave you in this condition, I'd say it's time for you to go. I cannot comply to your petition, and you know it. That was never part of the deal" she clarified once the man had stood up as well.

The look he gave her at that moment was an intense, penetrating one. There wasn't any readable expression showing on his face more than a deep seriousness, but she wasn't going to back up this time. If she started to satisfy every little whim of him who knows what could happen to her in the future. Just a well calculated, measured trust could ensure the success of their compromise.

He walked past her without a word, only after letting his gaze weight over her for a full second, his slim figure disappearing into the shadows grimly. She stared in the direction he had left for a minute, as if the trace of his presence could still be perceptible in that deep darkness. And maybe it was to Ara, as an image, as a smell, as the pounding of her throbbing heart. Every new encounter being just as brief, a sudden and fleeting moment of an enormous intensity that lingered in her chest for much longer than the minutes they shared, as if their relationship relied more on memories and pending emotions than any actual, tangible contact.

But she had to keep going. No matter how much her heart was threatening to burst out of her chest or how her skin burned in the places she had received his body, there was a duty she had to fulfill without distractions. So she kept walking through her assigned path, attentive to any noise or sight that could show a sign of any danger, following the route from up the ceilings of the town, scrutinizing the night displayed in front of her. Soon enough, the sounds of deep growls determined her task, and she followed the noises precisely, running across the roofs with light and silent steps.

She reached the principal square, the central point of the town marked by a big, majestic fountain built up with stones as the biggest place of reunion for the villagers. Its darkness was only disturbed by the dim light of the lanterns placed in a circular disposition around the fountain. There she could see the sculpted stone stained with blood, the water tainted by a dark red, and the lower part of a human body hanging from its edge, a big group of grey skinned demons feasting savagely on the remains of the murdered, splashing blood over the ground. Gripping the hold of her spear tightly she charged towards the creatures at full speed, her brows furrowed and the hatred shining brightly in her eyes.

Her spear pierced through the torso of one of them with incredible strength, its body impaled by the middle of the shaft. The rest of the group started screaming fiercely at her, showing blood-bathed fangs threateningly, high pitched shrieks filling the air. She moved swiftly, not minding the new weight added to the handling of her weapon, using the sharp edge of her spear to slash their bodies, tearing them open, mutilating them, cutting their heads or picking them up with the tip of the blade and smashing them against the ground over and over again, a black liquid splattering all over the place, contaminating the once clear water of the fountain.

She fought restlessly and fiercely until the demons were reduced to mere residues, their disgusting flesh scattered around the central square as dirty stains of black and grey showering the cold stone. Supporting her spear on the ground Ara pushed the dead body of one of the demons with her foot, making it slide down the shaft with a creaky sound, a trace of blood forming as it was moved down until reaching the ground. She used the edge of her clothes to clean up the dark stains left on the holder of her spear, attentive to any noise that could resonate through the night, ready to attack once again if needed.

But nothing else happened; only silence filled the atmosphere and the putrid smell of fast decomposing flesh was the only thing she could perceive at that point, the nauseating odor filling up her lungs. She felt disappointed. The rush of the killing spree was making her veins pump under her skin with adrenaline, her fingers itching with anxiety. She was accelerated, almost possessed with that smell and the hot blood and the melting flesh, her stomach contorting inside of her with the invigorating pain of a deep hatred.

Ara let her breathing calm down slowly as she stood in the middle of the plaza, staring absently at the blood covered ground under her feet. Several images came rushing through her mind, memories of loss, pain and betrayal flooded her head with overwhelming sounds and loathsome sights of past days. She felt her blood boil inside of her and her limbs shake with a deep anger, desires of revenge and the long awaited closure.

When she went back to the mansion there was no sign of disturbance in her mien, just a serious and composed expression hardening her beautifully featured face. Only the silence and quietness of the big house welcomed her that night, and this time she didn't bother figuring out where her comrades could be or what they could be doing, none of that really mattered. Surely, some of them were still fighting out there, some might even be already asleep. She went straight up to her room instead, stripping out of her dirty clothes as soon as the door closed behind her, leaving a trail of laundry behind her on her way to the private bathroom. She was going to wash that disgusting blood out of her skin, even if it meant that she had to scratch her skin out in order to make it disappear. Ara waited until the hot water filled the bathtub entirely before immersing her body inside, the water quickly adopting a grayish tone as it mixed with the remains of blood.

Pressing her upper body tightly against her thighs she hugged herself, bringing the knees to her chest. Her fingers caressed the skin of the arm delicately, moving up until they had reached the neck. She discovered once again the two single marks, poking them and feeling them up softly with the tip of her fingers, as if it helped her remember, recreate. The wounds burned under her touch as if they were alive and throbbing, those sensations were still clear to her.

With her eyes closed she evoked a single image, a single face. Her chest tightened.

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 **A/N: So, in regards of the last reviews I received, I wanted to point out a few things.**

 **If you want to read it as if it was Sakra Devanam the protagonist instead of YamaRaja, go ahead, of course you're free to do so. But I still hold my position about my interpretation of YR. I've had this discussion before and honestly I don't want to have it once again. Your perspective is valid and I respect it, but let me kindly disagree with it.**

 **On another note, this is, of course, a fictional story. Vampires don't exist, demons don't exist, people with magic powers (like Aisha) don't exist and so on. So you shouldn't expect me to apply real life rules to this story exactly as they exist in the real world. All that is said inside of this story is with the sole purpose of making and giving sense and purpose to it. Again, I respect your opinion and I completly understand the point you had mentioned. But I never intended this story to be perfectly realist.**

 **Anyway, I apologize once again for not updating and hope to still count with your support!**

 **Your opinions and feedback are encouraged and very much appreciated. If you would like to discuss something with me over inbox i would also be glad to read you there.**

 **Hope you enjoyed.**

 **Until next time.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I don't really have much to say.**

 **I said I would update more frequently, so here's the chapter 10!**

 **Enjoy.**

 **I do not own Elsword nor its characters or anything at all.**

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Coldness, wetness, the quiet motion of the water responding to her somnolent movements as it formed small waves around her body. Ara woke up when the first rays of light started to seep through the big windows of the mansion, but there was nothing more than the darkness of an extinguished candle welcoming her that morning. She felt her skin being extremely sensitive, as if it was just a thin layer of paper, and the water surrounding her exposed body was like ice freezing her up from the inside, numbing her limbs. Taking out the plug retaining the liquid inside of the bathtub, she got out as fast as her heavy body allowed her to.

Shivering, she quickly covered herself up with a towel she had left next to the tub the previous night, rubbing her skin with it in her way back to the bedroom. Ara dried herself up energetically, the contact of the towel against her feeling rough and hurtful, but she didn't mind. She made sure not a single trace of wetness remained in her skin before getting dressed as fast as she could with a simple dress and a black cape that reached slightly below her hips and covered her front and back entirely. Hoping the sun's light would be enough to warm her up a little bit more, she left the house in a hurry, sliding the cape's hood over her head as she closed the big gates behind her. Her mornings had an owner, a name written on them now and she wasn't one to back up with a compromise. That was, at least, the reason she gave to herself to be in such an unnecessary rush.

Her steps were quick and hurried almost without her realizing it. Not even the heat of the morning sun became necessary for an invigorating warmth to spread all over her body the more she walked away from the mansion and soon she had to start paying attention to her own steps to not trip over the skirt of her dress. It was a long walk towards the old castle, probably longer in her mind, but she reached her destination eventually and a strong knot formed instantly in her chest at the sight of the big woodened gates that separated her from its inside. She knocked on the door strongly and, just like the day before, an elderly maid received her and invited her to come in and wait on the lounge.

Sitting down on a big, red velvet sofa she hugged herself tightly, only now remembering the coldness that still lingered under her skin, not even realizing she had started to tremble quietly once again.

"I don't recall turning you into a vampire for you to be that pale" she heard a husky voice from the entrance of the room, not even noticing the steps that preceded his entrance. Her eyes met his once more, an electric sensation running through her spine. She stood up to greet him.

"Is that how you're going to welcome me? What a gentleman" she retorted with a reproachful expression, holding the cape close to her body. A short laugh was heard as a response.

"I figured we were past that sort of courtesy at this point, but alright" he said, making a short pause. "Good morning, Miss Ara, I'm glad you could come to make me company this morning as well. Care to tell me what happened to you?" he added while performing a short bow, a cocky smile displaying on his lips as he lifted his gaze to look at her once again.

She furrowed her brows, imitating his gesture before sitting down again. "I fell asleep while taking a bath" she replied with a deep voice, under her breath, turning to look away from him. It was certainly not something to be proud of. But even from her range of view, she could see the mocking expression forming on the male's face when his eyebrows arched and his smile became wider. Then, the laughter.

"My my, just how reckless are you?" he said, the derisive laughter still shaking his words slightly. She saw him walk in front of her, giving her his back as he approached the fireplace located in front of the coffee table by the velvet sofa, just beside a pair of high backed armchairs. Soon the cracking sound of the burning wood filled the room, the welcoming heat of the fire enveloping her. Suddenly the majestic, inhospitable room became homely, cozy and inviting. For the first time since she had stepped into the castle she felt actually welcomed, delighted to be there.

"You should come closer to the fire to warm yourself up. I will go ask the maids to bring you a cup of tea" he spoke up once again before leaving the room. She complied to his suggestion happily, curling up in one of the armchairs next to the fireplace. The soft light emitted by it charmingly illuminated her, casting shadows that danced on her skin along with the movement of the flames. She closed her eyes softly, enjoying the moment as a lovely warmth invaded her tenderly. The sound of his steps echoing across the lounge indicated his return, but she didn't open her eyes again, trying to lose herself in that embracing moment. She heard the clink of a plate being placed on the coffee table in front of her, then more steps stopping by her side and the sound the weight of a body made against the cushions. He had sat down on the chair next to hers, she could even sense the proximity without needing to see him nor touch him. And it felt alright.

When she finally opened her eyes she could easily find his, staring intently at her. The very same sensation that had crossed her so intensely the first time their gazes had met, that night at the ball, spread through her body like fire, bringing her to an invisible, heated embrace. She felt in awe once again, remembering just what was that had her mesmerized by him since the first day, that intense and scrutinizing look that seemed to draw her to him, threatening to drown her. She instinctively bit her lower lip, holding his stare for what seemed like an eternity. And then his face came closer and closer, making the distance between them disappear as she was unable, unwilling to move an inch. He leaned his body towards her, and she felt his strong arms surrounding her back tightly, a deep sigh escaped her lips from the bottom of her chest, her eyes closed again. The soft touch of his lips on her neck made her shiver, grazing her skin delicately. She perceived a faint hint of hesitation in those lips that barely touched her, that breath that tickled her neck slightly, delaying the inevitable pain of piercing fangs that came afterwards. An electrifying sensation shaking her only for a brief moment, then the pleasant wave of feelings that followed, flooding her. She couldn't help it, her arms instantly clung to his back, holding him tightly.

It was short, shorter than she had expected. She felt her body going weaker, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been the first time. He didn't move away nor backed up an inch; she didn't open her eyes or released him from her embrace, even now that his fangs had dug out of her flesh. There certainly was, to her, some sort of magic enchanting those minutes they spent like that, something that froze time and made it hard to break away, forcing her to hold her breath even if there was no reason to do so. There was no real reason for any of this whatsoever, but none of that really mattered. A heavy atmosphere had settled down in that room, only the crackling fire disturbing the silence that had accompanied their meetings so well until that point, the heat of the fireplace embracing them, the coldness of his hands burning her, the touch of his breath keeping her rooted to her spot.

Deep down she knew that after he had fed off her there wouldn't be any reasons for her to stay, the briefness of the task almost disappointed her.

"It's early" she caught herself saying in a whisper, not wanting her own voice to disturb the air between them.

"Yes" he muttered.

"You should have asked"

"I know. You didn't move"

"I couldn't"

The silence once more. Of course she knew it, of course she knew he was going to go for her blood. He liked it, he said it was sweet and last night it looked like he craved it. Of course he was going to get close and bite her neck, even holding her the way he did was something she could understand, he even did it the first time he bit her. But her? What reason did she have to hug him like that? And even more, to not let him go. Was it the hypnotizing charm of vampires that books talked about what made her cling to him that way? Accept his approach and keep him close? Was it? How unfair. She felt suddenly frustrated at herself for being so helplessly drawn to him every time he wanted her to, for being so defenseless against his supernatural powers.

"It's not fair" the words slipped out of her tongue once more, her confusion spilling out of her without filter.

"What isn't?" he questioned her quietly, both of them keeping their voices low.

"We already agreed on this. I told you I would give you blood. There is no need for you to use such tricks on me only to get what you want, no need for you to cast such a spell" she blurted out under her breath, burying her face against his shoulder even more. "It only takes you one look to have me completely surrendered to your will, you have so much power. It's unfair you get to take what you want while I get hypnotized like that" she said, trying to control her voice and keep her frustration from showing in her tone.

"Is it really like that?" he asked once again.

"Of course it is. Why else would I be unable to move a muscle when you do it? Why else would my stomach become a tight knot and my body go weak like that? Why else would I get rooted to my spot every time you give me one of those looks if it isn't because of that supernatural skill to hypnotize people at your will and for your will? I told you I was going to do this, you shouldn't do that to me" she explained, talking as if she was out of herself, letting the words come out in an unstoppable wave.

He remained silent for a full minute, the seconds passing by tortuously slow. Only then she realized her mistake.

"I was…unaware of that" he replied calmly, hesitantly. "I have never done that purposely".

She separated herself from him, breaking the atmosphere that just a few minutes ago she had been so afraid to destroy. Ara looked at his face, waiting for their eyes to meet again, but that moment never came. She realized how much he was trying to avoid her gaze, and a subtle feeling of guilt overwhelmed her from the core. Not knowing what else to do she stood up, fixing her slightly wrinkled skirt, and moved away from the armchairs.

"Could you please indicate me where the bathroom is?" she asked him curtly. She could clearly feel the new distance settled between them.

"Go upstairs. In the right side of the corridor, the fourth door" he said, his head down, staring at the floor.

Ara took a last glance at the male before leaving for the stairs, her chest weighing with uneasiness. For some reason she felt like something precious had been broken, but wouldn't even be able to point out what it was that pained her so much. What exactly had been destroyed?

Once in the corridor she spotted the indicated door. She didn't really have anything to do in the bathroom, but out of sheer instinct she had blurted out something to get more time. More time for what? It wasn't even clear to her. But just when she was about to push the door open, she saw the very same room that had caught her attention last time. Its entrance wide open, visible from her spot was a reading desk with a thick, clearly old book opened by its half, a dim, purple glow shinning around it.

She abandoned her original task and headed towards the open room, her body moving almost by itself, her gaze stuck at that mysterious book. After checking her surroundings and making sure no one could be seen or heard near she quickly went inside, approaching the bookrest as if its light were pulling her with an unknown force. The words written down on its yellowish pages belonged to an unfamiliar language that she couldn't decipher, but the words were distributed in a way that made it look as if they were incantations, songs or poems, something to recite. The page in which it was opened was marked by a silken lace. She examined it a little bit further, trying to find something she could actually read, but it was of no use. Though it was clear to her that it held some sort of magic in its words, for it to be glowing that way.

The sound of steps took her out of her focused state, causing her alarm. Moving swiftly, she managed to get out of the room before the head of her host appeared at the end of the stairs, but she couldn't make it back to where she was supposed to be before his eyes laid down upon her. She cursed under her breath.

"I am certain that is not the room I indicated before" he told her, approaching her slowly. "What were you doing there, Miss Ara?" he questioned her with a deep, calm voice. It was soft, yet it held a grim tone that made her stomach contract.

She didn't answer and held his stare instead, knowing perfectly well that any excuse she could give would be foolish. He got even closer, staring intensely at her until the distance between them wasn't more than a few inches, slamming his hand against the wall behind her, trapping her between it and him. She didn't move a muscle.

"What is it that you wanted from that room?" he questioned her once again, closing the distance between their faces.

"Nothing in particular" she answered merely, looking right back at him.

"It is not a very courteous thing to do to be snooping around other people's houses" he said, talking calmly still.

"I apologize for my rudeness" she said, not being able to move. Immobilized by his presence once again.

"Good" he said before taking a set of keys out of his pockets, closing the door behind them and locking It. "Just make sure it doesn't happen again".

He moved away from her, giving her space to move freely now that the book's room had been securely protected from intruders. But she couldn't take her eyes off him, there was something hidden beneath his gaze that gave her mixed feelings. His attitude, his tone right now had been as threatening as if he had daggers coming out of his eyes, but there was something more in them that made her doubt of the seriousness of his precautions. There was something she intuited that made her feel as if he were somewhat reluctant to act the way he did, a certain hesitation showing on the way his tone remained soft, and how he had abandoned the questioning without nothing more than a mediocre apology. It made her feel as if, even when he was the owner of the mysterious book, she could trust him.

"You didn't even touch the tea I had you prepared" he told her, starting to walk back to the stairs. But before he could advance too much she caught his arm, holding him tightly, retaining him. He turned back to give her a questioning look.

"What is that book, Add?" she asked him with transparency, staring right at him with a determined look shining on her eyes, tightening her grip on his arm.

She held his scrutinizing stare with a strong determination, already convinced that she wasn't going to back up no matter what, ready to face him. The moment he made their eyes meet was extended for several minutes, but she could have sworn it had been hours of a dense silence. Only when he finally answered she released him of her grip.

"Care to join me in the library?".

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 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Until next time.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: So chapter 11 is out now.**

 **I hope you enjoy it!**

 **I don't own Elsword nor its characters.**

* * *

Not even a single ray of light filtered through the thick and heavy curtains covering the windows inside of the library. Only the yellowish glow of the candles hanging from a chandelier illuminated the crammed room, casting shadows that extended from the stone wall's fissures and tall shelves, creating all sorts of new shapes and figures that seemed full of an autonomous life, dark creatures emerging from the light, lit by anyone who could wake them up with an active imagination. Hundreds of beautifully decorated hardback books filled the entire library, from the big shelves to piles placed carefully on the floor and on woodened tables, here and there, piled up in big towers of dark covers and golden letters. Years of both ancient and contemporary knowledge were almost palpable in the dense and oppressing air, an unmistakable aroma of dust and rustling old pages despite the neatness of the room.

The habitation had its own character, a strong and intimidating one. It made Ara's chest feel heavy as she sat down on a high backed armchair at one of the corners, the soft light of a candle placed in the side table next to her enlightened the book resting on her lap. "Ancient languages" was written on its dark blue cover, Add had given it to her after a long while searching for it between the multiple titles displayed from the floor and up to the ceiling. "You will come to understand for yourself" he told her after handing the tome. He was now sitting right next to her, reading one of his many medical books, his concentrated expression framed with shadows and the warm light of the candles radiated a supernatural, manly beauty, out of reach. She went through the pages, creaking as they slid through her fingers, looking patiently for a hint of familiarity, something that resembled what she had seen written on the glowing book. The tome was thick and it took her several minutes of wandering through its contents to find what she was looking for, though inside of the library time hardly seemed to pass.

Recognizable words and symbols finally made an appearance after a long while searching through the pages, small and unconnected phrases written at the top of the chapter that seemed to match those she had seen in the mysterious book, followed by an introduction to that particular language. She started reading with attention. The origin data of the language had been largely discussed over the years, but there seemed to be an agreement on that it was most likely originated during the Middle Ages, commonly ascribed to the practice of witchery, though there was no historical evidence of that assumption. What was, in fact, known was that it belonged to the oral traditions of small communities all over Europe, later preserved on paper, long after its presumed origin. The root of this language had been discovered to be latin, but it was never possible to determine the source since its use was only recorded to be practiced by small and unconnected communities, never adjudicated to any known nation or large group.

So its history remained a mystery. But what really interested Ara was the possibility of understanding its meanings and, through the recollection of several manuscripts and books written in that language over the course of time, it was going to be possible. She started reading the transcriptions and translations one by one, each of them explaining the grammatical implications of each form of phrase construction and the different possible meanings for each word, and she could feel herself starting to get progressively more anxious. She couldn't take the idea out of her head that the book contained in the room upstairs was an important thing to decipher, that the many mysteries held by it were of vital relevance to all, or most of the supernatural occurrences in the town. It was something like a feeling, a powerful presentiment that she didn't seem to be able to shake out of her mind, it just stuck with her ever since she laid her eyes upon that book.

Considering the amount of vocabulary and grammatical constructions implicated in the use of this idiom and the complexity that its memorization was going to involve, she decided to take one step at a time in order to do the learning properly and safely. She was going to dedicate herself to one aspect of the language by session. This time it was going to be the articles and connectors, next it could be pronouns and so on, depending on the difficulty of each part. She searched for the pages containing the information she wanted and read diligently, articulating each word with her mouth and no voice several times, until it stuck in her head. Learning the articles was an easy task, since they were just a few to remember, but she still insisted in practicing them a few more times before being absolutely sure she had memorized them all properly. She took her eyes off the book for the first time in who knows how long to look at the male beside her. The serenity and maturity reflected on his mien captivated her. For some reason, she thought he looked like himself the most whenever he was concentrated reading, even when she didn't even know him that well to begin with, but she had the strong feeling that right in that moment she could see his true self framed in a motionless moment. Her heart skipped a bit.

"Add?" she spoke up after a few minutes, slightly pained for breaking that moment.

He looked up at her, moving only his eyes as he kept the very same position he had been holding that entire time, arching his brows. She received a mere sound for an answer.

"Would it be possible for you to help me revising what I've read? I'd like to make sure I'm memorizing all of this properly without using the book" she explained herself quietly, wanting to preserve the quietness of the library.

Add marked the page he was reading with a silky lace, closing the book and leaving it aside on the side table before moving to the edge of his seat and closer to her. He motioned for her to hand him the "Ancient languages" book, to which she complied. She recited the words to him, pronouncing them in the language she was learning before making explicit their match to their own.

"You have learnt them correctly, but the pronunciation is not quite right" he told her after hearing her out and checking her words with the ones written in the pages. "Now, listen to me carefully" he said, starting to read from the book out loud, accentuating with his tone those parts where she had made mistakes, talking slowly and clearly for the correct pronunciation to be obvious. From that point on they worked together. She recited the words, meaning and connections to him and he corrected her every time she got something wrong, teaching her the correct way of reading and reminding her of the vocabulary when she forgot it.

Time seemed to freeze inside of the room, perpetually immersed in a constant night, almost indifferent to the rules of the real world outside of its walls. But even if the library felt like an atemporal capsule, the day had certainly elapsed outside of the castle, the red and orange light of the sunset covering the sky without ever penetrating the stone edification. The same way Add and Ara were aloof to the progressing of the day, talking, discussing and revising the book together restlessly until they both agreed on that enough subjects had been covered for the day. At the end she had learnt a lot more than she had originally determined to, thanks to Add's help making everything considerably quicker. But there was still a lot to do and she wasn't even near of being prepared to decipher the book.

She felt content with the progress they had made, knowing already that she would have to put a lot more effort on the task if she wanted to unravel the mystery contained in the tome soon. At the same time she felt hopeful, completely convinced about the importance of this advances. She helped Add putting everything back in its place after marking the page they had revised last to continue from that point the next time. She looked for him with her eyes, only to discover he was already staring at her.

"Are you hungry, Ara? You have spent here almost all day without eating anything" he asked her.

"Now that you mention it, I am" she said. "Though if you had acted like a good host and offered me something to eat when it was the proper time to do so, I wouldn't be" she added with a small smirk. He laughed huskily in response.

"Pardon me, but I am certain that helping you out with something completely unnecessary to me counts as being a pretty good host, in my opinion" he replied, laughing still. "Also, isn't it slightly unfair of you to accuse me of something like that, when you have not been a courteous guest either? With all your meddling and snooping".

She arched her brows, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I didn't expect you to be the rancorous type" she said with a faked indignant tone.

"I am really not. But If you want to start with that kind of discussion, be sure you will not come out clean" he retorted, twisting his mouth in a smirk.

"Alright then, you are a marvelous host" she said and sighed, shaking her head in feigned resignation before flashing an entertained smile at him. He snickered.

"Come with me, I will ask the cook to make a meal for you" he said as he started to walk out of the library, followed by a laughing Ara.

Just like the first time, over the dining table were displayed a group of different dishes, all of them conforming a complete meal. And she was, one more time, delighted by the sight of such delicacies. Something she would never get tired of. They sat down in front of each other, Ara with several plates served for her, Add with a glass filled with a red, dense liquid. She stared at him, then at the cup in his hands.

"Is that blood?" she asked.

"What else could it be?" he simply replied. "It's animal blood".

"If you can drink that, then why am I coming here to give you mine?" she questioned, with more surprise on her voice than anything else, staring straight at him. He shrugged.

"Drinking this calms down the hunger, but it is not what I need" he explained calmly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

She gave him one last glance, twisting her mouth slightly, before going back to her food. She was hungrier than she thought, but all the time they spent in the library had passed so quickly and smoothly that it hadn't even bothered her until it was mentioned. The quality of the food was no surprise and she ate it with delight, quietly. And suddenly, a question struck her.

"Tell me, Add…If you can calm your hunger down by drinking animal blood, why did you look so desperate last night? Going as far as looking for me to let you drink" she talked to him while looking at the table, at the dishes and, finally, once she was done speaking, at his eyes.

He remained silent for a while, simply looking at her back, holding her gaze. It looked like it was a habit of him; just scrutinize her silently before any word could come out. She had become used to it.

"You haven't realized it yet, have you?" he replied with his own question, smiling just slightly.

"Realize what?" she asked back, a little bit confused, frowning.

He took a sip of his particular drink, letting it rest inside his mouth for a few seconds before swallowing it, frowning strongly when it went down his throat.

"You will understand with time, even though I am pretty sure I have been clear about it before" he answered finally.

"What is it with those mysterious answers? You never answer my questions directly. It really seems like you want to come off as a mysterious gentleman" she said as she held a small frown, her lips twisting in a smile at her last words. He snickered.

"I am not trying to seduce you with such an obvious and pathetic strategy, if that is what you're thinking" he said, laughing a little more.

He left the glass on the table, supporting his elbows on it as well and placing his chin on his united hands, looking at her with some sort of self-satisfied expression, his eyes partially closed and his mouth curved in a smile. She couldn't help but stare into his face, caught off guard by that unusual appearance. If she had to admit it, he looked weirdly handsome that way.

She almost jumped when he spoke up again.

"I told you before, Ara…I really, really like your blood" he said, widening his smile, staring deeply into her eyes. She felt her chest tighten, her heart going at full speed, her body heating up. "And I am not sure you understand completely what that means. It tastes incredibly good, sweet, better than anything I've tried before. I need it now" he paused, examining her expression, the surprise written all over her face, and something more. "And it has to be all mine now".

She watched in awe as he stood up from his seat slowly, how he moved towards her with a confidence in his movements she had never seen before. The sound of his steps, his piercing eyes, the accelerating pulse making all of the veins in her body pump under her skin, the knot in her chest. She saw him kneeling down in front of her, felt his hand reaching for hers, interlacing their fingers, the coldness of his skin like an electric wave on her body, his breath tickling her when he muttered "give some more to me" in a barely audible voice, his lips on her wrist, the fangs piercing her flesh painfully, the blood flowing out of her. He barely took a sip, a few drops, but that wasn't it. Then it was his mouth on her shoulder and more pain, the familiar sting, and a little bit more of blood. His hand holding hers still, firmly, his teeth piercing through the skin on her neck, reopening fresh wounds. Her heart was beating rapidly on her chest, threatening to come out violently, almost painfully, the temperature of her body rising and a wave of shivers shaking her, an oppressing feeling in her stomach. She closed her eyes, surrendered from the moment she had witnessed his expression, experiencing the sensations that were taking over her. There was much more than just pain, there was excitement and pleasure.

The amount of blood he took wasn't nearly as much as he had drank before, it was as if his intention was only to leave a mark, to make his point clear or to simply taste her. His actions had her confused, but the thrill she felt overwhelmed any other sensation inhabiting her body. When he moved away from her all the amazement seemed to disappear. She quickly got up.

"I am terribly sorry, but it is getting late and I have duties to attend. I hope you forgive me" she said rapidly, doing her best to sound polite. She performed a short bow as a goodbye and hurriedly left for the room without looking back at him.

Walking through the town streets she could feel her heart throbbing with no sign of calming down any time soon. She was flustered, confused and slightly irritated. At him for doing what he did, at herself for letting it happen. Her steps were quick and hurried, wanting to go back to the quietness of her own room where she could finally calm down the torrent of emotions that made her insides writhe. She opened the gates to the mansion with uncontrolled strength. Reaching for the lounge her legs stopped moving.

The walls were covered in blood, pools of the red liquid had formed on the floor, tables, chairs and sofas were knocked over and everything was a complete mess. She couldn't do anything but stare at the chaos in front of her, reality and fantasy confusing in a macabre clash, something shattering inside of her. Her eyes immediately scrutinized the room. That's when she found them.

Images of the past overlapped with the scene before her in an overwhelming rush, terrible screams of pain resonating inside her head. She saw blood and flames, saw her parents, family and neighbors laying immobile on the ground, destroyed houses, a collapsed town, bloody paintings on the walls. She saw the slaughtered bodies of those she had loved and cared for, she saw the mutilated bodies of her friends.

Everyone is dead.

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 **A/N: Welp.**

 **Well, uh...yeah. I'm gonna take this space to tell you once again how much I hope you're enjoying this chapters. And to say that please, by all means, leave me your comments and feedback!**

 **It is really really important to me to know if you're enjoying the fanfic so far and what are your impressions and thoughts! I would be more than glad to read you!**

 **I really enjoy writting this fanfic, so it would be really cool if you enjoyed reading it as well. Or you know, if you liked certain part or a certain thing, getting to know how you feel reading it is, as I said, something really important to me. And I'd really appreciate it if you'd let me know!**

 **So that's it. Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Until next time .**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **I don't own Elsword nor its characters.**

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The room was bathed in darkness; only the pale light of the moon drawing white lines over the chaos gave a sign of the world's existence outside of the lugubrious place. The sight of blood was hidden by the shadows, but the strong aroma of death flooding the room gave away the massacre nauseatingly. Everything was eerily quiet, only the cracking of the window's shutters could be heard through the empty mansion, softly agitated by the winter wind. The air inside of the lounge felt oppressing, dense, contaminated with pain and anguish. It was constricting Ara like a heavy weight, pushing her down. In the middle of the room she stood still, petrified, with only silent tears wetting her cheeks. Not a sound escaped from her.

Suddenly a noise. Ara lifted her head instinctively, looking for its source, but the darkness was too dense. A pained whimper, the sound of the woodened floor under a moving weight. She waited in alert until the silver light of the night illuminated a figure standing by the window, bending slightly over itself.

"Elesis…" she muttered out of breath, contemplating the girl's figure contoured by the dim light. None of them moved, staring at each other with expressions that revealed astonishment. The silence felt heavy, many questions started to harass her mind, but her mouth refused to make a sound. She walked slowly, reaching for the girl as if captivated by an oasis. Oppressing feelings pushed inside her chest, making her body feel filled with sand. They hugged each other silently, letting the shared grief weight over them.

"What happened here?" Ara asked to her now only comrade as they both sat on the sofa, their faces partially illuminated by a candle. Neither of them looked at the other, holding their heads down. There was no surprise in the long silence that followed to the question.

"Everyone…was killed. Not only them, but the servants as well. There's not a single person alive in this mansion anymore, aside from us both" the red haired girl answered finally.

"Who…?".

"Ran".

Ara fell silent, her mind was spinning. Her eyes lay upon the girl but her gaze was lost in a void, looking past her as the images of past days transported her to horrible memories. It was all the same again, she could almost see the faces of long lost beloved ones in the bodies of her friends like interlaced pictures. Something started to build up from the bottom of her chest, something that made her blood feel like boiling. "Not this again" was what she repeated herself, over and over again, unable to stop the voices stirring inside her head, contained emotions starting to unleash uncontrollably. She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her skin.

"This…this needs to come to an end. We have to…" she paused, struggling to get the words to leave her throat. "…kill him". Her face was darkened by deep shadows, distorted by an enraged expression.

Elesis looked at her for a moment with just a second of surprise flashing on her face before turning blank again. She looked at Ara calculatingly.

"He's your brother, Ara, he…"

"No" she said with a deep voice that emerged from her stomach, a hateful growl. "My brother…he would not do something like this!" she exclaimed, her voice becoming progressively louder. "Elesis, where is he now?".

"There is no way I would know. I fell unconscious, that's the only reason of my survival. I ignore what happened after that" she replied.

"I see…" she grunted, a few wrinkles forming on her face as she frowned, the shadows deepening her enraged expression. "Elesis…in order to retrieve my brother and save his memory, I will destroy his body" she lowered her head until the light of the candles could no longer make it visible. "If killing that monster is the only way to free him, then I…am going to finish him with my own hands".

Elesis merely nodded in understanding. Both girls soon sank into a grim silence, the feeling of decay flooding the room like a sinister omen.

The corpses were placed over white blankets in the backyard, same color covers protecting them from the pitiful gazes of those sent to pick them up for the performance of a proper burial. Chung's father had taken charge of the situation after receiving a letter from the only members of the gang left. The future looked black for the girls, knowing they didn't have any reason or right to stay in the dignitary's mansion anymore. They had been asked to leave the residence by the end of the week; the remaining scent of blood invading the house made it hard for everyone to bear living there anyway, and they knew it was never going to completely disappear.

Ara let the cold breeze hit her as she sat down on the roof under her bedroom's window, contemplating the sight of the town. It was almost disgusting how everything seemed to be just the same, as if a cruel and vicious slaughter had never taken place behind the walls, as if people had never been violently murdered, as if no one feared the malicious threat that hid sheltered by the night. In that moment she hated those who carried carefree smiles and ordinary lives, ignorant of the blood baths occurring at all times. She had dark bags under her eyes; multiple images and sounds wouldn't let her sleep, and that terrible smell.

Elesis had already left. She said she couldn't stand living in the mansion a single day more, and Ara couldn't blame her. If only she had a place to go she would have left too, but anywhere she chose to go would require a payment, and money was something she didn't have. All those years they had lived only for their self-imposed duty under the care of the dignitary's generosity, for being the friends of his son. But any reasons he had to welcome them had now disappeared along with the boy and the rest of the group.

She climbed back up to her bedroom and looked around with a depressing feeling weighting on her heart. Everything was covered in white sheets, just like in the rest of the mansion; it wasn't a place where anyone could live anymore, and thus it was going to be completely abandoned once she left. It was saddening, walking through the many corridors, peeking inside the bedrooms, desolating. She could almost hear the laughter and lively voices of those who have accompanied her for so many years, see how the light used to make the residence be full of life. Aisha's books had been donated to the local library; it was now a grey room with its furniture completely covered, the days where she used to cry her heart out in the warm embrace of her friend slowly started to vanish. It felt like a dagger piercing her chest, those welcoming arms and tender faces had now become lifeless, cold bulges of decaying flesh with no identity, no more happy memories of camaraderie and friendship residing in their hearts. The people she had came to love and care for so much over the time were now gone forever, and would never come back as if their existence had been washed off the world. But that had to be the normal for her, hadn't it? Having important people around her violently ripped out of her life.

The emptiness of the mansion and its overwhelming memories were soon too much to bear and she decided it was probably time to pack up her clothes. It pained her to leave a big part of her past behind, but it was even more hurtful to stay and witness how everything started to crumble in front of her eyes, to see the absence and feel the death rotting inside the walls. She took her case and headed out, walking like a ghost, giving the last glance to the brilliant past before turning her back to the mansion forever.

The voices of the people walking past her seemed too loud and slightly mocking, everything was tainted with a shade of grey, the sun hiding behind the clouds. She walked aimlessly around the town, not knowing where to go, running her gaze through the many shop windows. Maybe, if she was lucky enough, there would be a shop requiring employees and she could ask for a job, maybe she could even find an inn that allowed her to start paying at the end of the month. Despite her hopes there was no eagerness in her search. After a long while wandering through the streets, probably hours, she spotted an old, deteriorated building of three floors with a sign outside that read "Inn". It looked dirty on the inside, the wooden tables of the floor slightly coming out, cracking loudly under her feet. The walls had a fairly old and opaque wallpaper, small flowers could be seen with a little effort, but it was clear it looked much more faded and brownish than it should have. The woman on the counter was an elder of big proportions, her arms and legs under a sloppy dress looked like they were going to rip the fabric at any sudden movement and her face wasn't one of a kind person, but it was all there was.

Ara got closer to speak to the woman. She asked for a room, explaining her situation, telling her that there was no way she could pay in advance because of not having a job yet, but promising she would start with the payment at the end of that month if she allowed her to. The elder looked unhappy with her request, snorting loudly and giving her a distrustful glare.

"No one will allow that, kid; we don't run this inn with pure generosity. If you have no money, there is no room, got it?" she looked down at her, examining her up and down as her mouth twisted in an ugly grimace. "But I pity you, kid, you look miserable. So I'm going to be a good person and let you stay here without paying. With money, that is. Right now it's just me and my husband running this inn and I've got a bad leg, can't work as I used to so we're lacking hands. You're young and have lots of energy; surely you can work here in exchange of a room and food on your stomach".

Ara looked back at her with a serious expression, pondering her possibilities. Right now it was the best deal she could get. Unemployed and homeless as she was there wasn't any other option for her.

"I'll do it" she said with determination and a deep voice, extending her hand to the woman to close their deal with that gesture. However, the elder didn't take it. Instead, she left her spot behind the counter and took one of the keys hanging on the wall behind it.

"Follow me, I'm gonna show you your room" she said as she started going up the stairs. Ara grabbed her suitcase and followed behind her, looking around her and examining the surroundings. It really was a dirty place, it was obvious they didn't have any employees to take care of it properly, but that made her wonder how they had been able to keep the business like that for a long time. They arrived to the third and last floor and walked through the short corridor. Three doors could be seen at each side, so she figured they were small rooms. The woman stopped at one of the last doors and unlocked it with her key before handing it to Ara.

"Start your work tomorrow morning, at 5am. You're gonna clean the common areas before the pensioners go downstairs to get breakfast, after that you clean the rooms. Then you just help the customers with anything they ask you and do whatever until lunch. You eat in the kitchen and clean it after everyone has eaten, then you can go. The kitchen and the bathroom are in the first floor, second and third are only rooms. Don't go inside the room 12, that's ours. I prepare the food so don't go around messing with that, you just help serving and eat. Do the laundry on Fridays. Make sure to be here before midnight when we lock the door, or you'll spend a night on the street. Are we clear?" the woman explained as Ara hung her clothes inside the old closet in front of the bed.

"Yes, ma'am" she replied curtly.

"Good. Then I'll leave you alone" she said and closed the door as she went out of the room.

Once she was done accommodating her belongings in the room she sat down on the bed to look around. The same dirty wallpaper of the first floor decorated the walls, every piece of furniture looked old and ramshackle, the bed was hard and rough. But all in all, it was better than nothing. She gave a deep sigh, laying her back on the bed as she stared at the ceiling. Her chest hurt with the thought of the last events and she swore to herself she was going to do whatever it was in her power to finally put an end to this misery. That's when she remembered.

She headed to the streets one more time, now with a clear destination in mind. It was even clearer now that deciphering that book was of utter importance, even if she had no idea of what it hid inside she was sure it was going to be a big piece of help. She just knew.

Ara rushed through the town without looking at anything or anyone around her, her sight was almost completely blinded by her new purpose and could only see the way ahead until she arrived to the castle. It was already past noon when she knocked on the door, the same ritual of always. This time, however, the maid that received her asked her to wait for a few minutes while Add finished attending a patient. He had told her before that he sometimes performed as a doctor for many important people of the town, but she had never seen him with one before. So she waited in the very same spot she did every day, letting her thoughts drive her away from the place she was in. She told to herself that there wasn't any time to waste in mourning, even if it was painful to lose those one loves, because now she owed them something even more important than that. Discovering the truth and killing away the pain and suffering that attacked the town from its source was the only way of avenging them and make them justice. Not only for her friends, for her family and her brother as well.

The sound of steps and chatter pulled her back to reality. She saw Add and another man heading for the door, and though she couldn't see the other male's face she noticed he was dressing elegantly. So what he told her was actually true, it made her wonder how it was that he had the trust of that kind of people. She heard the big door close and turned her head to see him approaching her and stood up. He took her hand delicately between his fingers, kissing it softly before looking up at her with a gentle smile. She could feel her heart skipping a beat.

"Good afternoon, Ara. Are you well?" he spoke up with a deep, husky voice.

"I do hope you are feeling better than me right now, Add" she said with a small, barely noticeable smile, taking her hand back to her chest.

"I did actually hear about what happened" he said with a soft voice, as if trying to be careful with his words. He sat down on the sofa, gesturing for her to imitate him. "We can make it quick this time, if you want to head back home" he added as he watched her sit down next to him. She shook her head slowly.

"There is no such place as home right now. But I do have reasons to be here, apart from lending you blood" she told him honestly, staring at her own hands. He arched his brows.

"Is that so? May I ask what those reasons are?" he questioned her, supporting his elbows on the knees and his chin over his hands, staring at her with interest.

"Somehow…I know the book is important to…this. I need to know what it says and if it is in any way connected to what has been happening" she explained, slowly and softly.

"It is, indeed, important. You are right about that. However, there is no use in me telling you what it is about. It is extremely important that you learn to read it out loud" he told her, the seriousness clearly noticeable in his tone. She turned to look at him with a small bit of surprise showing on her face.

"So it is important, I knew it. But why should I learn to read it out loud?" she asked, deeply interested in his answers.

"I assume you want to do things by yourself, isn't that correct?".

"It is" she paused. "Add, there is…something I haven't told you about" she declared, her voice almost impossible to hear.

"Is it important for me to know?" he asked.

"Probably not, but…will you hear me out?" she asked him more honestly than she had ever expected to do with him. She felt like talking to him about so many things, about all of the things that had happened until then, she felt the urge of making him understand why all of this was so important. Was Add the only one she had now?

"Alright. I'm listening" he said as he leaned back on the sofa, crossing his legs and then his arms over his chest, still staring at her face.

"I don't know why or how it happened, but when I was little my…older brother turned into a demon. Somehow, he got to command a group of them, I ignore what amount or if it was all of them. But the thing is he had some sort of control. So one day the village I used to live in caught on fire while the demons invaded it, killing everyone. My friends, my family…everyone except me was dead. And my…that demon was the one who did all of that. It was the same now, everyone inside the mansion got killed by him and a group of demons. One of my friends was able to survive due to being unconscious and told me what happened. However, I do not know where he is now. What I do know, though, is that if that book is somehow relevant to all of this, I need to figure out what it says, and that I need to find a way to stop all of this" she explained, taking her time. Words struggled to come out sometimes, threatening to break her voice while a knot formed on her throat. "He is responsible for the death of my family, the death of my friends, the chaos in town and…for making my brother disappear. I have to stop him".

Images and sounds running through her mind. Somehow, pronouncing those words out loud felt even more difficult than letting them linger inside her head. It was becoming hard to contain the tears that had refused to come out for so long, even when her heart felt like it was going to stop moving at any moment. And now there she was, with a knot on her throat, choking on the sadness and pain that flooded inside of her, filling her completely. Her body started to tremble as small sobs escaped from her, her gaze now entirely clouded, a salty taste on her mouth.

When those arms surrounded her she didn't struggle. She let him take her in his arms and welcome her against his chest, so close and strongly that if he hadn't been what he was she would have been able to feel his heartbeats on her cheek. She leaned her body towards him, hugging his back, burying her face on him and huddling against him. Tears started to slide through her cheeks. She was crying, sobbing and whimpering, harder than ever, bottled up emotions finally coming out of her. Maybe because he felt like someone she could cry on, because he was the only one that existed inside of her world now or because if she had shared her blood with him she could do it with her tears too. He pressed her softly against him, pulling her closer as his hands caressed her back and her hair tenderly. She felt welcomed and safe and the feeling of loneliness was starting to fade between his arms, like he was allowing her to be completely honest, to pour her feelings on his chest. So she cried like a baby until having hiccup and her eyes dry.

He didn't say a word, even when there were no sounds and the only thing remaining was the tremble of her body against him. He remained quiet because the only thing that mattered was the warmth and the closeness and her shaking body. She appreciated that silence, wanting to drown on that scent and that gentleness that sheltered her. She nudged his chin with her head softly, drowning on his arms even more.

"I'm here" he said. And it was all that counted.

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 **A/N: Whew.**

 **Please review and let me know your thoughts and feelings on this chapter!**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Until next time.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hope you enjoy!**

 **I do not own Elsword nor its characters.**

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A half empty cup of tea rested on the side table between them. It was made of white porcelain, decorated with delicate silver flowers near its edges. Ara took a couple of sips before returning to their studying session, the hot beverage had surely helped her to calm down her nerves. She thought, as the teacup hit the plate with a faint sound, that pouring her heart out the way she had done a few hours ago, emptying herself from the burden that weighted over her shoulders was something she had been needing to do for a long time. That maybe that was exactly what she had to do to feel light again, even if the mourning of those who had passed away continued to hurt her deeply, she felt more capable of coping with it and go on now that she had taken so much out of her heart. Gratefulness was filling her from the inside; a new light illuminated the male sitting beside her now. She looked over at him and saw him staring with a reproachful gaze, so she apologized for the pause.

He was helping her with the learning of the language once again, just like the day before. The routine was exactly the same, the memorizing and the reading out loud, followed by his corrections. She knew it was a task she would have to commit with dedicatedly if they wanted to make any progress, so it was already decided that they were going to go through the book every day. Several subjects had already been studied; it was amazing how much she could advance in the learning with his help. Articles, connectors, prepositions, pronouns and gender variables had already been revised between both sessions. Learning how to conjugate verbs and the vocabulary was what was left, probably the most complicated part. But she was fine with taking their time with it; she wanted to do it properly. He took a notebook from the desk and wrote down several words in it, ripped that piece of paper and handed it to Ara.

"These are the words you should focus on learning. Of course you could try to learn the entire thing, but that's going to take a lot of time and is absolutely unnecessary for your purpose" he told her as she received the paper. It was a long list.

"There is still a lot to do, isn't there?" she sighed, folding the note before placing it between the book's pages. "And we have only revised the basics".

"It had been two days, what were you expecting? Of course you have to invest time to dominate something like this" he said while standing up to put the "Ancient Languages" book back to its place on one of the shelves. "Be grateful of my help, you'd have to spend probably twice as much time in this otherwise". She nodded.

"I know. And I am grateful, for a lot of things" she said, looking away. All of that sudden honesty and openness was like a river in flood, uncontainable and unstoppable, pouring out of her as if by instinct. What was there to hide, anyway? She had opened her heart to him once, showed him her most vulnerable side. What reason could there be to hide other, less significant thoughts?

"Are you going to go sentimental on me again?" he mocked her with a light tone, an easy laugh making his voice vibrate and his mouth expand to a smile. She looked at him with a frown on her face, twisting her mouth on a reproachful expression that made him stop laughing.

"I won't thank you if you don't want the gratefulness. But what you said back there was important to me, so I hope you didn't just say it out of a whim" she said, standing up from the armchair and moving closer, standing in front of him. "So…can we get this over with so I can go?" she said, an unpleased grimace twisting her lips to a side. He looked at her with his eyebrows arched, confusion showing on his face.

"What are you so upset about?" he asked her, ignoring her question. She stared directly at his eyes with intensity.

"You are such an idiot" she said simply. "So much I am even thinking about punishing you by not giving you any blood today" she added, crossing her arms over her chest, looking at him threateningly. At that, he let out a snicker.

"You do realize I could just take it without needing your permission, right?" he asked with a confident voice, slightly cocky, looking down at her with a snotty smile displaying on his face. It made her shiver.

"That doesn't make any sense. The deal we have would be useless if you do that" she retorted.

"And claiming you will punish me by not giving me blood sounds fair or like a part of the deal to you? If you want to play by your own rules don't be surprised if I do the same" he said, widening his smile even more. For some reason, that expression gave her chills, and they intensified the moment he put his arms against the shelves behind her, trapping her between them and him. A soft laugh escaped from his lips. She moved quickly and swiftly, going under his arm to break free and running away towards the library's door, holding the end of her skirt. He managed to catch up to her before she could even reach the middle of the corridor, pulling her by the arm firmly as he pushed her towards him with his hand on her back. "There is no point in playing the cat and mouse game with me" he said and, by that moment, they were both laughing softly. "Did I win the right to bite you yet?".

"Not yet" she answered. "I still think you're an idiot for mocking me like that, and on such a sensitive subject, too" she explained, furrowing her brows. Still, a smile managed to break her severe expression.

"Should I apologize, then?" he asked, keeping the smile on his face and his grip on her.

"Yes, you should".

Still holding her arm he pulled her a little bit closer, staring intently and directly into her eyes as a serious mien took over him, changing the expression on his face.

"I apologize for mocking you. Also, what I told you back then was not said lightly, and I take full responsibility for the meaning of my words. I meant it. I am here. Don't ever question my words because they are always the truth" he said with a deep and husky voice that echoed through the hallway and into her mind. The intensity with which he looked at her and the seriousness behind his words made her chest tighten, her heart throbbing rapidly inside her. It was hard for her to take her eyes away from his gaze, but she couldn't help looking a little bit lower. It felt like a moment froze in time and she could almost swear the floor was disappearing under her feet, her breath was stuck on her throat and she felt her legs losing strength. None of them was backing away; she wondered how much time they were going to stay like that, but his grip was too firm and she was too unwilling to move.

"Why?" was the only thing she managed to mutter, and even then her voice sounded like contained breath and a knot on the throat.

"Because I am not a beast" he replied before freeing her from his embrace, letting his arms hang by his sides. Maybe her heart broke a little bit when his last statement was pronounced, maybe some of a sad emotion filled her in that moment because she extended her arms to pull him into a hug, surrounding him with her arms and burying her face on his chest.

"No, you are not a beast. And I believe you. And I am here too" she whispered softly, closing her eyes, feeling the coldness of his body. "And you are not an idiot".

He didn't say a word, just accepting the embrace, placing a hand on her shoulder, supporting his chin on her head. She spoke again.

"Thank you. You have been nothing but kind to me, you have done so many things you didn't need to do and helped me" she paused. "I am glad you listened to me, I am glad you understood what I wanted you to understand, I am glad you decided to help. And I am glad I talked to you, I am glad I chose to tell you about those things. It made me feel so much better. Thank you, thank you…" her voice started to lower, growing weaker and weaker with each word as if it was slowly fading away and hiding inside her chest again, she squeezed him.

"Say, Ara…" he spoke finally, his voice low and severe. "If one day I ask you to listen to me too…will you do it?" he asked, and she was sure of recognizing a faint trace of sadness in his tone. Her heart seemed to shrink inside her chest.

They broke away once more and she looked intently into his face. The same intense and piercing gaze that had casted a spell over her since the day they met was searching in her eyes, a thin layer of pain hiding behind it. She could sense the loneliness those eyes seemed to be bathed in, the plea underneath.

"Of course I will" she replied without hesitation.

Two genuine smiles.

Ara was standing in front of a shelf with the translations book between her hands, examining it concentratedly. The studying session of that day had been long and intense, the advances they made were considerable, but the rhythm of the research left a few things here and there that she felt like going through once more. She held the paper with the vocabulary Add had written down a few minutes ago, realizing just how much she would have to work in order to accomplish the mission she had imposed on herself. The words he had listed were surely the ones she would need to read out loud to whatever ritual it was that was so important to the whole problem. Or maybe something she would need to understand if she wanted to be well prepared to face the threat that had been staying in their world for so long. Even if everything had been in this state of chaos for longer than she had been alive, she was sure the demons and the humans belonged to different dimensions, ones that should have never crossed. But where did vampires come from? Were they always in the human realm? Were they something between a human and a demon? Didn't they have their own place? She thought that maybe they just didn't belong anywhere; maybe they didn't have any place they could call their own, never accepted by humans or demons. That idea struck her with a feeling of loneliness. She thought about Add, about how alone he must have felt and how the idea of making connections with other people surely felt overwhelming to him, how fearful of people he probably felt, of what they would do to him if they knew what he was. Weren't there other vampires he could relate to? Was he completely alone?

Those thoughts overwhelmed her mind and for a moment she stared at the book between her hands without really looking at it. That's why she nearly jumped when there were hands suddenly placed on her shoulders. She felt the closeness and breath on her neck.

"I can't take it anymore. Please?" she heard his husky voice whispering on her ear. That sole phrase agitating her immensely, heating up her body like an intense wave of an unknown enchantment that filled her with thrill.

"You are going to kill me one day, doing that" she muttered under her breath.

"I know how the human body works. I won't let you die" he whispered, his last words sending even more intense chills down through her spine. They had a certain charm in them, a certain sweetness that spread a warm sensation all over her. "I will say it again. I can't resist it anymore".

She answered with her body, leaning her back against him and removing her long hair from her neck. She closed her eyes, waiting. He buried his face on her neck and the known sting of his fangs piercing on her flesh, reopening the old wounds made her veins feel like pumping under her skin. For a short moment she felt the blood coming out through the holes on her skin, his lips pressing against her neck and sucking on her vital liquid. Even if it was supposed to feel painful, after his teeth had went through her skin there was nothing but a weird sensation of delight and emotion. She would have let him drain her entirely if it was for the feelings the feeding woke up on her. But it was over almost as soon as it started. She turned around to face him and the closeness made her hold her breath. He was licking the remaining blood off his lips and for a second she could do nothing but stare at that gesture. They stared into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity, letting the silence fill the room. And she was sure the wild beatings of her heart were audible in that quiet moment, pumping on her ears loudly. The gaze that pierced through her seemed to hide hundreds of unknown emotions and intentions that kept her in awe, waiting for something to come. Then he opened his mouth to speak.

"Will you hear me out?".

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 **A/N: And that's it for now. I'm already working on the next chapter and it's going to be a little bit different. So please bear with me!**

 **Also, I see you seeing it. So once again, reviews and feedback and comments are always really really appreciated!**

 **Until next time.**


	14. Chapter 14- Intermission

**A/N: So, this one here is kind of an experimental chapter. I felt like trying this new thing and hopefully give some sort of insight in aspects that can go unnoticed in the regular chapters. It's not as literal as the chapters usually are but...you'll see when you read it.**

 **I hope this is enjoyable to you as well.**

 **I do not own Elsword nor its characters.**

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Void. An inscrutable darkness with no barriers, no end, no beginning. She stood alone in the middle of nothingness, _somewhere_ in nothingness, _in_ nothingness she stood; she floated, hovered over and above and everywhere. A claustrophobic consciousness of the infinite. Can there be blindness when nothing exists to be seen? The strange notion of a body that wasn't her own, trapping her, distortion of her own self. Trying to take one, two, three steps became an unmovable motion. The division between her body and the space that surrounded her turned into a blurred line, no lines at all; it was absolute. A powerful sense of fear and defenselessness and the blackness felt like shrinking; closing her eyes made no difference.

Emptiness.

Loneliness.

Multiple voices that called her name mixed with each other in a confusing mess of noise, increasing their volume, louder and louder and louder. The voices pronounced words she couldn't understand, she couldn't reach; they filled her completely.

Powerless.

Insecure.

Abandoned.

Why did she feel abandoned? A call from the past. The void had a heart that throbbed irregularly and quickly. Suddenly the darkness broke to give away a faint light in front of her. Throbbing, throbbing. Images started to appear and interlace with each other, moving with an accelerated pulse. Throbbing, throbbing. Faces, just faces taunting her mercilessly with their unbearable definition. Throbbing, throbbing. Disfigured faces distorting into a picture of blood and death and suppurating burnt skin, ripped off skin, devoured skin. And the throbbing.

Dead.

Dead.

Dead.

All dead.

The beating heart became the only sound, pulsing wildly, faster, louder. She was deafened by its rhythm, something started to push from above. Push and push and push. Multiple eyes stared at her, eyes that belonged to mutilated bodies and lost souls glared with gazes full of hate and reproach. She felt it clearly as if it were the biggest truth; they were blaming her, accusing her aggressively. Screams of pain and agony, cries of terror, wailings of spirits that escaped from those wide open mouths and angry shouts getting lost in the wave of noises that threatened to asphyxiate her.

Guilt.

Anger.

Revenge.

Twisting images and memories pulsating, vibrating, fading and plunging into each other, widening and shrinking uncontrollably. She felt like speeding backwards into an invisible tunnel; the only light she had come to reach disappearing from her sight, getting swallowed by the darkness. The absolute silence screamed anguish, screamed despair. Useless, completely useless. Helplessly alone, consumed by that quietness; louder than any noise.

She saw a face, abruptly appearing as an intangible being somewhere in the nothingness. She saw it with her eyes closed, and it was familiar. A face and then a body, a complete person presented itself silently, emerging from the darkness. Its presence filled the void entirely with a tender sensation. The heart started to throb again with a regular beating, quickly but soothingly. She recognized the feeling, recognized him.

Ellipsis.

Her hands moved by their own will, aiming at the existence in front of her, around her. An invisible wall that her fingers found. He stood still, quiet, staring at her. Over and over again she tried to reach but every time she found a barrier. He stood still, quiet, staring at her, indifferent to the division. She tried to touch him; her hands patted the wall softly, then strongly, then desperately. She pushed it, hit it, and slammed it with her palms, then with the fingers pressed in fists. She shouted with a voice that never came out of her throat, aiming for that lone light in the middle of that pure darkness.

"Why am I the only one moving?"

He stood still, quiet, staring at her. She moved, hectic, looking at him. A breaking noise and glass shattering.

Hope.

She saw him moving for the first time, lifting his arm. With the index finger he poked the wall.

Redemption.

Thousands of fragile pieces crumbling and disappearing into the black infinite. They stared into each other.

"Who are you?"

Hands that weren't there held her in place, unable to move, unable to get close.

"I want to know"

She struggled, drowned in a wild desperation. The pulsating heart.

"Let me in"

He stared. He took a step closer.

Dot.

Dot.

Dot.

"Will you hear me out?".

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 **A/N: In compensation for this chap being considerably shorter, I'll try and update the next one soon to resume the course of the story.**

 **As I said, this was an experimental chapter, so I'd love it if you could tell me what you thought of it? If you liked it or not and what are your general thoughts on it. Don't worry, it won't be a change of style or anything, everything's going to be back to normal in the next update!**

 **I'll address the last reviews now!**

 **Guest (I guess?): Thanks a lot! I'm happy to see you're liking the story and the style of writting! And about the blood issue, I've addressed it in previous author notes as well as inside the story, so hopefully that'll suffice?**

 **nanashimai: You're such a loyal reviewer . She will, indeed, appear later. The only thing I can tell you about that is...don't get your hopes up I guess ;^;. And about the other thing, well...WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT. Maybe soon? maybe not? who knows? lol. Thanks for always reviewing .**

 **Diabolic man: Of course I'll keep doing it! Seeing comments like yours give me the encouragement to go on. I'm really really glad you like it .**

 **Interspace: Well...I love it too! And I saw that there aren't as much fanfics about them as I'd like to, part of the reason why I decided to write one. And...thank you so so so much you have no idea how much that means to me, thank you . And about your PS well MAYBE SOON, I really wanna write it but you know development and stuff.**

 **That reminds me, since I guess there's underage people reading this fanfic I figure...when the time comes that I decide to add a lemon part to it maybe I should put a warning? or mark the beginning and the end of it so if there's someone that gets uncomfortable with that kind of stuff they can skip it and read it normally?**

 **Also, I wanna thank you for your support. You've been so kind to me and I can't even explain how much I appreciate it. Thank you**

 **Until next time!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: So, as I promised, the 15th chapter! And it's longer!**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

 **I do not own Elsword nor its characters.**

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Just a few shy rays of light penetrated through the small windows of the inn, she had woken up before the sun and the normally deteriorated looking building seemed even older and dustier than it did when she first stepped inside it. The corridors were completely silent as she walked through them to complete the morning routine, the depressing atmosphere weighting over her as if its age would had been added to her own, she could almost breath the dirt in that heavy air. Luckily, she was the only one awake and thus she wouldn't have to worry about dealing with the pensioners just yet. But there was still a lot to do and, for that, she carried a bucket full of cleaning accessories around the place. First thing was to clean the bathroom downstairs so everyone could use it before anything else, so she kneeled down in the middle of the small room to start scrubbing the dirty floor.

"I was alone".

Ara winced at the sudden pain in her chest, spreading through her upper body with an oppressing sensation. The skin over her knuckles grew pale with the strength applied over the scrub brush, struggling to make the crust of humidity and dirt on the floor disappear. With enough pressure and dedication applied to the task it started to come off as small layers of a disgusting and greasy skin as if she were peeling the flagstones off their old flesh. She was disgusted by the state in which this place had obviously stayed in for a long time without any type of care. Maybe if she managed to turn it back to a decent condition she wouldn't have to work that hard the following days.

"He changed me, and took care of me for all this years".

She remembered piece by piece the story he had told her the previous night, like small fragments of time coming back to her mind. And there was that dark alleyway too, the gunshot, the crying man and the lack of blood. The corpse she had referred to so carelessly so many times was the man who took him under his wing to protect him, the one who died to save his life, the one he had been honoring with lit candles in the place of his death. The pain inside her chest became more intense; only imagining the sadness Add must had gone through for so long almost made it possible for her to experience it in her own flesh. The loneliness she had come to see in his eyes had been for him as real and certain as her own loss was to her.

"He was killed".

The floor was completely covered in flakes of dirt, but after a long while of hard work she had successfully removed that greasy crust. She stood up to sweep the rests of impurities off the ground before continuing with the rest of her chores. Her gaze was almost completely absent, her mind wandering through the spiral of memories that drove her back and forth between the days of the past month; to the alley, the mansion and the castle over and over. All of those strange events had taken place in such a short period of time that it was somehow hard to digest; thinking about how much her life had changed and how different her present was when she thought about how things were when all of this started was confusing and overwhelming. She looked at herself in the mirror over the sink, multiple dry soap drops covering the image that seemed so unreal to her, so foreign. It was almost hard to come to terms with the idea that it was her reflected in the glass, her own life and the way it was now. She remembered back to the day of the ball, when she still had her friends next to her and the only thing occupying her mind was the extermination of the demons they found around the town; how the mystic air surrounding the castle seemed to announce the changes that were about to occur, and how that day she failed to understand the meaning behind the magnetic eyes that trapped her helplessly.

"And I drank the ichor".

A chill made her whole body tremble for a brief moment. The sight of his eyes turned into a dangerous red, the feeling of sharp fangs digging into her flesh and the plea of the beast hiding under a quiet desperation were things she had witnessed closely. Even if the human part of him overcame all of those beastly aspects of his own nature and used to prevail over the most dark corners of his existence, the fact that there was a constant fight inside of him between his humanity and the beast that resided deep down was something she knew she shouldn't forget as easily as she had been doing. But how could she see him as a beast when there was such a brilliant spark of a lonesome tenderness shinning in his gaze and such a delicate touch whenever he laid his hands on her?

The following hours she devoted herself to the efficient cleaning of the inn. Even if the building was in such a deteriorated state, she managed to at least give it back the neatness it deserved. The bathroom, the corridors, the lounge, the dining room, the kitchen and the pensioners rooms all cleaned up to her best capability. Even if her efforts weren't really recognized or appreciated by the owner of the inn, she felt content with the job well done. People were already circulating around the house, some of them reading or playing chess in the lounge, others simply going about their own businesses in and out of the rooms; the inn was full of activity while Ara took some time to rest in the principal salon before lunch. She observed the people around her for a few minutes, all of them being middle men; middle aged and middle class. They talked loudly and their guffaws were of an even higher volume, but it didn't bother her. Somehow, the presence of so many people inside such a small house made it feel like a place full of life. It woke up sentiments of nostalgia on her.

"Don't rest too much. Lunch is ready, come help me serve it to the guests" the old woman, owner of the inn appeared from the big ark of the door and called out to her with a voice that resembled a growl. She knew by now that she wasn't going to receive anything but nasty glares and grumpy words from that woman, so she stood up from her uncomfortable spot in the old couch without saying a word, and followed the elder to the kitchen. A big cooking pot steamed from the firewood stove with some sort of pottage inside it. A strong and weird smell came out of it, making her back up instinctively. The old woman handed her a ladle and both of them started to grab clay bowls and serve the food, ten servings in total. Using a big tray she carried them to the dining room, placing the plates in order on the table before ringing the bell that indicated to the pensioners that the food was served. She watched as the men got together in the room and sat down to eat, making sure no one was missing in case she needed to go back to the bedrooms to let them know everything was ready. But all ten of them were already starting to eat their lunch, so she went back to the kitchen to help the owner clean everything up. It was her last chore before being allowed to have her precious free time back, so she did it as efficiently and quickly as possible.

Once dismissed she headed to the bathroom, craving a bath and a change of clothes. She could sense the smell of old age, dirt and homemade food impregnating the fabric of her dress, and it was nauseating. The faster she could get out of that place the better; she was starting to fear the decadent atmosphere of the house would stick to her permanently. The ten minutes limit for the use of the bathroom forced her to finish her preparations quicker than she'd want, so she dropped her dirty clothes in the laundry basket outside the room and headed out of the inn with accelerated steps. The fresh air of the outside filled her lungs as she took a big breath; never had she felt that happy about being in the exterior. The soft light of the winter sun and the cold breeze that caressed her pale skin and played with her hair made her feel like coming back to life. So it was true that the influence of the inn had a negative effect on her.

Without wasting time, she hurried to the castle. She couldn't help but feeling slightly nervous about meeting with Add once again. Even if it was true that it had become a habit, there was something in the back of her head telling her that this time things were different. Last night was the first time he genuinely opened up to her, even if his story didn't answer most of the things she wished to know, it was the portion of his life he had freely chose to share with her. But had something actually changed? Was their relationship different now that they both decided to trust their experiences and feelings on the other or, at least, part of them?

Another encounter with the big gates of the castle and she felt like being transported back to the day of the dance party, when everything was new and mysterious and she had so much ahead. The mysticism of the tall edification had been almost going unnoticed and forgotten, but she could sense it again now, looking up at its magnificent construction. The old stone covered in lively vines, the corners ornamented with gargoyles that seemed to watch over the wide front yard, large woodened windows with their carved frames, the tall towers emerging from the foundations, imposing, and the small balconies hugging the upper windows with curve bars made of black iron; every small detail made the castle look like an elevated construction, with its privileged position over the hill, keeping an eye on the town. It was a fortress, and she had penetrated in it so many times yet its secrets were still zealously protected.

The interior was still equally stunning; no matter how many times she had walked through its rooms and corridors. The walls covered with velvety wallpapers and large paintings of beautifully decorated frames, the candles adhered to them with iron supports, the big chandeliers hanging from the middle of every room, the professionally confectioned and carved furniture and the small sculptures placed around the castle looked as breath taking as if she were looking at them by the first time. She couldn't help it; she roamed around the interior distractedly, occupied with the contemplation of every detail that inside the residence looked like pieces of art. She thought it suited Add perfectly.

Behind a broad arch opened in the wall with a black woodened frame was what seemed to be a study. Tall shelves covered most of the walls with their multiple books cramming them, and in the middle of the room a big desk took its place with piles of papers crowding it. Giving his back to her she recognized Add, busy with writing over those papers, with his slim figure and broad shoulders, his long and white hair falling over his back as it hung from a tall ponytail held in its place with hairpins. She held her breath and he slowly turned around to acknowledge her presence, still holding a piece of paper and a pen in his hands.

"Come inside" he said with a strong voice before turning back to his task once again. "Did you adopt the habit of wandering now?" he spoke up again to question her, giving his back to her.

"I got slightly carried away. I apologize" she excused herself and walked inside the small room with no windows, a chandelier lighting up the place with several lit candles, a gas lamp placed over the desk. She walked towards a leather armchair resting near the shelves and sat down, peeking over his shoulder before getting comfortable in the spot she had chosen. "Invitations?" she asked.

"Yes, invitations" he answered. "I believe I told you about this before. I hold a ball every once in a while to invite the dignitaries and important people associated with the castle" he explained without taking his eyes off the writing.

"What is, exactly, the importance of holding that sort of events?" she asked, curious, without completely grasping the relation between his diplomatic meetings and the kind of life he had.

"It is, actually, quite simple. It's important for vampires to disguise themselves and maintain good relationships with the habitants of the town they live in. A good way of doing so is holding a privileged position and making connections with people of high ranks. I understand it is a tradition held by the original owners of the castle and the first vampires to reside in this town, that's why it is important to take care of the connections vampires had held for generations here" he explained with a serene and serious tone, making it sound as if it were something obvious.

So that was why he met in equal standings with such important people. Now that it had been cleared, it did sound logical. She looked at him for a while, attentive to all of his movements. He certainly had the demeanor of a person in a high position, the way he moved, the way he talked, the attitude he had and his features. It looked as if he had been born a true gentleman, and she figured the education his mentor had provided had that objective in mind as well. Thinking back at the day of the ball in which they had met, she remembered feeling like in presence of someone of importance and a high status. He fulfilled his role perfectly, without a doubt.

"You are invited, too" he spoke again, suddenly taking her out of her train of thought. The statement took her by surprise. Her? Invited to such an event? The first time was probably justified by the act of saving his life from the hands of the man who had killed his protector, but now?

"There is no reason for me to attend a ball meant for people of a high status" she replied, unintentionally curtly. It wasn't a place for her, she knew that.

"Don't be silly. Of course you'd be attending as my partner" he said simply, without a care, as he wrote the invitations by hand.

Her heart started to beat rapidly and she felt like it was going up though her chest until it was choking her. She felt her stomach twisting and contorting inside of her and a sensation of anxiousness spread through her body, giving her goose bumps. Such a compromising thing said in such a light tone was something that would agitate anyone.

"Are you even aware of what that could imply?" she asked him with a slight trace of agitation in her voice, furrowing her brows at his carelessness. How could he propose something like that, out of nowhere?

"Of course I am. So…are you coming or not? I was going to send you an invitation but I figured that would be unnecessary" he said calmly, lifting up his head to look at her for the first time, his eyes fixating on hers with a penetrating gaze.

She fell silent, being kept in awe by that look that seemed to pierce right through her with an intensity that could shake her bones. It felt like she was discovering those eyes for the very first time and it was incredibly captivating.

"I…I have to be back to the inn before midnight" she finally said, speaking with a soft tone that struggled to leave her throat.

"What are you? Cinderella? Are you going to turn into a plebeian if you stay in the castle past midnight?" he asked her with a mocking tone, letting a few loud laughs slip out of his tongue. He left the papers and his pen on the desk and supported his entire back on the chair.

"I am already a full time plebeian. And no…it's because they lock the door at midnight" she retorted with an exasperated tone, even though a small smile managed to make her lips curve at his joke.

"If that is the case then it's no problem. If it gets late then you can spend the night here. As you should know, there are plenty of empty rooms" he said, dismissing her objections with a light and carefree demeanor.

"Asking me to attend as your partner, telling me to spend the night here…Why are you so bold, all of a sudden?" she asked with a joking tone, staring back at him with a wide smile playing on her lips.

"No reason" he replied curtly, leaving her slightly dumbfounded as he stood up from his seat and walked towards the door without saying anything else until reaching the entrance of the room. "Let's go to the library".

She felt puzzled by his reaction, the confusingly sudden change of animus. Just a few moments ago he was laughing and joking, and now his voice sounded gelid. She complied to his suggestion nonetheless and walked next to him towards the place where their study sessions were held. Looking up to him as they made their way through the corridors of the second floor she could see a stern expression showing on his face, darkening his features. She couldn't avoid the conviction of that she had pulled a sensitive string to trigger such a mood on him. But then again, she never really knew what was going on in his mind. He looked so focused on the way ahead that she didn't dare to ask.

Add lit the candles in the chandelier one by one as she found their usual spot. With the progressive enlightening of the room she managed to find the book of her interest in the stack arranged in a near shelf. He sat down next to her when the lighting was set and she searched through the pages to find the note with the relevant words for the reading. This time, the theme for the session was going to focus on the learning of the vocabulary he had established as important the other night, so they started working without wasting a minute.

All the time they spent inside the library studying she was constantly getting distracted by staring at the way her male companion looked, wondering about what it was that made him change like that, which earned her several and silent reproaches from him. She knew it bothered him whenever she spaced out, but at this point she couldn't help it. Somehow, she missed the expressions he gave her when joking with her or in a light mood; even his regular serious expression was something she could appreciate more than this cold and distant mien, almost as if they were going back to a previous state of their dynamic. She felt uneasy and enormously annoyed, but all the scolds she received helped her concentrate in the task she had between her hands.

Time passed as they worked together, their rhythm slightly slowed down due to her constant distractions. But, despite that, they managed to accomplish the goal that had been set for that particular session and, as always, they started accommodating everything back to the original place. She glanced towards him from the corner of her eye as the book slid back to its position on the shelf, pushed by her fingers. He didn't seem to acknowledge her attention until she decided to speak up.

"Aren't you going to ask me for blood?" she asked him with a soft voice, keeping her eyes on him as she saw how he slowly turned around to meet her gaze and how his eyebrows raised to form arches over his eyes just slightly. The questioning look she had seen so many times before.

"Right, come here" he said curtly, sounding like now he was the one spacing out. His voice barely evidencing conviction. She looked at him worriedly, twisting her mouth and lowering her brows. The way he was acting was surely unusual. But that wasn't the time to hesitate, so she did as he asked her to and closed the distance between them, standing in front of him with a decided position and looked up at him, expectant. She was waiting for him to embrace her, to grab her by the waist and hold her with his hand on her back, to run his lips through her neck delicately before feeding off her as he usually did. But this time was different, and none of that happened.

He placed his hands over her shoulder, barely even touching her as if he wanted to leave a space of air between their skins, and directly opened up the wounds on her neck while he pressed his fangs on her flesh. The way he did it felt nothing like the intimate touch that made her tremble every time, but instead it was like a mere procedure, a formality that he wanted to finish as soon as possible. Swallowing her blood he backed up within an instant and turned around, giving his back to her as he cleaned up the remaining liquid with the back of his hand. A disappointed girl stood in front of his back.

"How cold" she thought, feeling up the open wound on her neck.

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 **A/N: So that was it.**

 **By all means, feel free to leave a review and your thoughts on the fanfic, it'd be greatly appreciated!**

 **And for some reason the hearts I put on the last A/N won't show up, so just imagine it had a lot more love in it.**

 **Hope you enjoyed! Until next chap!**


	16. Author's Note

Okay guys, I think it's time to be honest with you. I know it's been quite a long time since I last updated this fanfic, and I want to clarify that I haven't really abandoned it, not permanently at least. Truth is, I haven't been in a good place, mental health wise, and I haven't really had the motivation to do anything creative. Trust me, this fanfic is not the only thing I've left unattended.

BUT I really want to get back on the things I enjoy doing, and that includes writing and, of course, this fic. So I am going to update it soon! Actually, probably tomorrow, since I'm already writing the next chapter.

Please bear with me a little longer, I'd really appreciate it.

 **THIS FIC IS NOT DEAD UNTIL I SAY SO!** I will definitely finish this no matter what, I promise.

Also, next chapter is going to be from Add's point of view.

Thanks for your understanding, see you soon !


	17. Chapter 16

**Long time no see, huh?**

 **So I'm back with a new chapter! I hope you enjoy it.**

 **I don't own Elsword nor its characters.**

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"You can leave now" the words slid through his lips with a bitter taste following them, permeating the back of his throat. His pale and slender fingers ran through the silver waves framing his face as the sound of a heavy door closing behind him echoed in the small room, he removed the hairpin that held the hair in a neat ponytail and could almost swear that the walls around him were trembling with the strength of that departure. Letting himself fall on the nearest arm chair he rested his elbows on the knees and pinched his nose bridge, a deep frown forming pronounced wrinkles on his forehead. The tall walls of the library had never felt so oppressing, the room never felt as empty when he spent entire afternoons reading by himself. And there was that smell too, that lingered stubbornly on the air around him, surrounding and suffocating him almost mockingly with the scent of blood and sweetness and her. It made the ichor boil inside of his body with a heat that was still foreign.

A long and exasperated sigh escaped his lips as he scratched his head strongly with both hands, messing and pulling the hair between his fingers. Little by little his mind started to cloud while the agitation built up increasingly in the pit of his stomach, making his insides squirm uncontrollably. Something that screamed inside of him, pulsating, vibrating. Swallowing the saliva that had accumulated profusely on the walls of his mouth, he savored that metallic taste once again. It quickly took over his senses, invading him like a powerful drug that over and over threatened to drive him to madness. He stood up abruptly with a sharp movement, pushing the armchair to the ground as his body found the strength to move forward, making his way out of the library and slamming the door shut as if a dreadful monster chased him closely. He knew he couldn't stay any longer in that room flooded with the particular aroma.

Add met the soulless eyes of one of the maids in his way through the long corridor, the sight of that empty body being almost repulsive to him. He held back the sudden urge to gag that made his throat feel sore and muttered to her an order to send the invitations he had previously prepared to their recipients, between a confusing babbling and words that spilled messily from his mouth. The answer was a quiet nod and the figure of the woman disappearing in one of the rooms. The mansion was full of employees that dealt with everything he couldn't bother to do, but talking to them and expecting a response was pointless. Ever since he had been brought to the place the same people occupied it, and from that point on he had tried several times to strike a conversation with them, to relate to them , to find in the wandering figures some sort of company that never came, until he gave up entirely. All that ever truly spoke to him were the books crowding the big construction, every room filled with old tomes that successfully provided a voice to listen for the lonely vampire.

His hand held the doorknob of his bedroom tightly for a long moment before finally deciding to enter. The dark room receiving him with a comfortable sensation of familiarity. There the persistent smell of that sickeningly addictive blood couldn't follow him, he would be able to have some peace before the wild instincts that were pushing inside his stomach could break free and bend his conscious will. He closed his eyes strongly to avoid looking at the distorting walls that seemed to melt around him, and let himself fall blindly over the soft mattress of his bed, topped with silky covers. But laying down only made the nausea grow even more intensely between his tongue and throat, and he would have thrown up if it wasn't for the fact that there was nothing to vomit to begin with. A bloody cough shook his body and the warm liquid rushed up through his throat as if wanting to mock his condition even further. He cussed under his breath, pressing a hand around his neck in an attempt of stopping the blood from advancing into his dry mouth. He knew this constant struggle was a fair price to pay for his desired absolution, that the cleansing of his sins was going to be nothing but these frequent headaches and shuddering, that it was a battle he would always have to face if he refused to lose himself to the beastly whispering inside his head. On the back of his eyelids he could see Ara's figure squirming under the piercing of his hungry fangs, and a mixture of disgust and a guilty pleasure invaded him in waves of complicated feelings. If he was the sinner, then she was the redemption and the judge. But also the gluttonous hunger that defied his will.

He felt exhausted, like his body was slowly sinking into the bed, devoured by his own heavy thoughts. Anything he could manage to think about could potentially distract him from the voices that spoke to him from the deepest part of his guts, and there was just one thing constantly circling inside his head, over and over, until it consumed him almost entirely. He didn't know how much time had passed with him laying dejectedly on his bed, but would have said hours if forced to make a guess, maybe a whole day. To him, it did feel like an eternity of just pure agony and an endless battle unfolding inside of him. Right at the moment he opened his eyes the decision of ending that struggle was taken.

The maids didn't even turn to look at him when he made his appearance on the drawing room, busy with the chores of keeping the big mansion clean and presentable. He slid the heavy curtain that covered one of the tall windows to a side, contemplating the vast garden that preceded the building submerged in a dense darkness. A small nod went unnoticed. He closed the big gates of the entrance behind him and walked down the stone path that twisted between large and leafy trees until the beginning of the property, the echo of his strong steps mixing with the sounds of the chirping crickets and the wind blowing between the leaves and making his loose hair flow around his stern face. He knew he could have made the trip a lot faster by just dashing his way to the destination, but walking through that forest like garden felt soothing enough for him to be drawn to enjoy the walk.

By that time of the night the streets of the town were already emptied, and even though the contrast of that especially dark evening and his perfectly white attire drew the attention of the few merchants that were still closing their shops, he couldn't bother with paying any attention to them. He couldn't see anything but the way ahead of him, his determination slowly pushing him to pick up his pace as the twirling of his stomach reminded him of the presence that still wanted to make itself triumphant. Once he was finally out of sight he started dashing across the empty streets, the invigorating rush sharpening his senses as his chest started to fill up with a particular smell. Even if it was a blind race, he knew he could always trust the powerful perception that curse had given him. It led him to an old building of three floors, noticeably neglected by the course of time and irresponsible owners. A series of unpleasing odors overflowed his senses, but between all those disgusting traces a certain smell stood out, picking up his interest. The strongest proof of this success was the twisting of his stomach and the pulsation inside his head becoming stronger, louder. He felt accelerated and that was enough for him to know it was the right place to be. Not wanting to waste any more time, he got closer to the building to examine it carefully, glancing up at all the small windows that didn't show any sign of movement inside.

Taking a small impulse, he jumped up with a single, powerful movement, holding onto the bars of a narrow balcony that surrounded one of the windows on the third floor. With a second, short jump he managed to move swiftly into the inside of the balcony, now facing the window-like door that led to the room. He stood there for a brief moment, waiting for that distinguishable aroma to make itself present before deciding it was the right room. Soon enough, the sensations that invaded his body and overflowed him with wild urges became even stronger that before, and he couldn't help but lick his own lips at the expectation that the desired objective produced. So he pushed the door open softly, almost fearful of making any small sound, and introduced himself to the bedroom, bathed in shadows.

It had a simple single bed cornered against a wall and an old drawer by its only furniture, every line traced with a white light that shimmered in the darkness, contoured by the dim glow of the moon leaking inside. Add could feel it now, more strongly than ever before, that sweet smell that was now taking over his senses entirely, shutting everything else off. His eyes travelled through the room until he found her, curling up on the bed, facing the wall, only the lower part of her body covered with the thin and old sheets. So calm, so fragile, so vulnerable, so absolutely open to anything he dared to do, so defenselessly exposed to him. He took a step closer to the bed, and then a couple more until his knees were touching the edge, staring at her with a powerful sensation of guilt and remorse battling up against the urges that made his insides go mad. Her closed eyes, her parted mouth, her thin figure hugging itself, the slow rhythm of her breath, her long hair spread on the pillow under her. He could feel all sense of purpose leaving his body as the consciousness of his own desires rushed back to him like an aggressive reproach, his limbs becoming weaker and weaker and the gluttonous expression that had showed up on his face giving place to the look a defeated man.

His chest tightened with conflicting emotions and he found himself trembling uncontrollably, hundreds of different thoughts shouting on his mind at the same time with an overwhelming strength that left him defenseless to his internal battle. There was no stopping now and he knew this even when his own sense of righteousness pushed disgust up his throat, even now that his consciousness was an active witness of the unleashing of his deepest instincts, and he could do nothing but watch in horror almost as if looking at himself from the outside. His own hands grabbing her shoulders and turning her body on her back, pinning her down against the mattress as his body positioned itself over hers, his knees by her sides. Ara's face being closer and closer as he lowered his head, seeking the heat that held the source of this lack of control. He buried his face against her neck, opening his mouth to let his lips hug that soft and warm skin and his fangs to rub her.

She gasped loudly, and he let himself fall even further onto her in response.

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 **I know this chapter was a little bit shorter than the rest, but...I kinda like it this way so I didn't want to add unnecessary stuff to it. I hope it doesn't feel rushed!**

 **Also, nanashimai : You're really sweet. Don't worry about that, I'm a lot better now! Thank you for your concern, and for being such a loyal reader too. I really really appreciate it!**

 **As always, comments and reviews are always greatly appreciated!**

 **See you soon.**


	18. Chapter 17

**Honestly, I was going to wait a little bit more before uploading this chapter, but I couldn't resist.**

 **I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

 **I do not own Elsword blablabla.**

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The room was enveloped in quietness, captured in the stillness of a moment caught in time with only the agitated panting of a man irrupting in the density of that heavy silence. Everything was completely bathed in the darkness of the night and only slight traces of a white shimmer contoured the shapes of the unfamiliar setting. The weighty atmosphere fell over him like trying to constrict him with its accusatory murmur of silent reproaches, protecting that frozen frame of a wrongful climax. Right at that moment he could feel the warmth of the body underneath him defying the coldness of his own skin, surrounding him of the welcoming heat it emanated, and the slow up and down motion of her breathing. The disgust grew larger and fuller of intensity in his guts.

"What the hell?!" her voice exclaimed right next to his ear with the confusion and the anger printed evidently on her exasperated tone. He felt her hands on his chest trying to push him away, but he was unmovable. "Get off me right now! Who gave you the right...?!" he heard her insist once her attempts of using force against him proved to be futile.

"Miss...Ara..." he cut her off with a weak voice that struggled to get out of his chest, getting lost somewhere in his throat, choking him. For a second it felt like needles were travelling through his tongue instead of those simple words, and he found himself wanting to hide with a childish impetus that had been buried deep inside of him for so many years, repressed, suffocated. The fear of losing himself to this sickness overcame the flood of emotions that twirled inside, and his last defensive resource was to bury himself against that appealing heat. The powerful smell that had driven him to a blind madness so many times was now a calming trace of familiarity that he inhaled with the hunger of an addict as his only consolation. The irony of it all pulled a suffocated chuckle out of his broken spirit and he recognized himself defeated. "Please...don't push me away" he managed to articulate in a desperate plea that seemed to cast a light of understanding in the girl victim of his recklessness, because the pushing and squirming stopped suddenly.

His upper body was then surrounded by arms that drew him closer, tightly and firmly embracing him with a tenderness that he couldn't get himself used to. He felt her fingers running delicately through his hair and something oppressive weighting inside his chest. The softness of her touch made him feel allowed to let go of his tight grip on her shoulders and sink his body onto her even more, being freed of his own weight. He was welcomed by her with no questions or reproaches, convinced that the answers she was seeking didn't need to be spoken, sensing a complicit and mutual understanding. So close to the object of his desires and yet he wouldn't dare betraying the trust she was putting on him, exposed as she was the notion of his guilt was stronger than anything else.

Despite the heavy weight over her, she managed to partially sit down on the bed with her back still slightly curved and resting on the mattress and moving to a side, accommodating him the same way. He felt like a dead weight, being moved around by her like that, but there was something similar to a motherly protectiveness in the way she managed to cuddle him between her neck and chest and hold him close. It was the closest he had ever been to that kind of comfort ever since he was a mere child, and those memories were still just blurry images in his mind, no matter how much he tried to recover those soothing sensations of the far past.

"It is okay now. You won" she cooed with a whispering voice that seemed to melt on his ears. He savored those words like the ultimate proof of this small victory. He had successfully conquered over the beast one more time, he knew that and yet her statement felt like the most reassuring confirmation. A light tranquility slowly followed to his internal turmoil, replacing it little by little as the minutes passed in silence and her fingers caressed his scalp. Not a single word was pronounced from that point on, and he enjoyed that comforting and full silence as his consciousness gradually became black.

The next time he opened his eyes everything was still covered in darkness, yet the first thing he saw were brilliant orange eyes staring at him from the opposite side of the bed. A slight confusion invaded him as he incorporated, sitting up and running a hand through his hair to fix the mess.

"It is about to dawn, you should probably leave before the sun rises" a soft voice whispered to him, talking in a way that didn't disturb the quietness of the early morning. He looked over to see Ara by his side and a strange and unknown sensation took over his chest, as if a giant hand was grabbing his organs from the inside. He frowned, still not completely aware of the situation he was in, trying to process and recognize his surroundings and get rid of the drowsiness that kept his mind cloudy.

"Yes, certainly, I should" he answered unconvinced, his voice coming out through his throat with an unexpected dryness that made it strange to recognize that voice as his own. He stared at her while she got out of bed, the simple white dress she used as a night gown flowing lightly by her sides as she walked around the room, searching for something. She opened the drawer and took a hair brush out of it before going back to where he was. "What are you doing?" he questioned her grumpily, his voice giving away the lingering drowsiness.

"I will help you comb your hair. Having it loose looks rather charming on you, but the ponytail is a signature" she said lightly, lifting the edges of her dress to give freedom to her legs before accommodating them at his sides as she positioned herself behind him.

"Don't touch my hair" he retorted with a husky voice.

"You didn't say anything about that last night, did you? You are so grumpy" she replied with a slight trace of mockery in her tone. And she certainly hit the spot, because he didn't have anything to say to that. He figured she had interpreted his silence as permission when feeling her hands grab portions of his hair softly, running the hair brush gently through it. Even if he wasn't going to admit it, it felt extremely relaxing the way she worked through his hair with such delicacy. If any part of it got loose again and were to fall on his face, she would pick it up again, brushing her fingers against his cheeks. He liked it when that happened; he thought her hands were really soft.

Ara used one of her own hairpins to hold his hair in place.

"Look at me" she commanded after leaving the hair brush on the bed, grabbing his shoulders lightly. He obeyed silently, staring at her with a slight frown showing on his forehead when he turned his head to meet her eyes, letting her examine the finished work. She ran her fingers through his cheeks, accommodating the few strands of hair she had left out of the ponytail. He closed his eyes. "How charming" she said finally, a faint smile curving her lips before she got up once more.

At that point he knew there wasn't anything else keeping him in her room, so he got out of bed as well, fixing his wrinkled clothes before walking towards the balcony. He didn't look at her again, but he could feel her gaze piercing on his back when he was about to jump off back to the street, the same way he had came in.

"So...about your invitation" she started in a whisper, he stood still. "I will go".

"Good. Be there tonight" he merely replied right before making his exit.

Even when the preparations for the ball were ready without him having to do anything but give instructions to the employees of the castle and the guests started to arrive, he couldn't help feeling anxious and stressed. Seeing how the mansion was slowly starting to fill up with dignitaries and aristocrats that were nothing but strangers to him felt oppressing. He had never been very fond of big crowds, and having to act as the host for this sort of meetings was something that made him feel completely out of his element. The first hour he occupied himself in greeting the guests with a wide smile and courteous words that didn't hold a single trace of honesty in them, having to listen to banal conversations and dishonest flattery that were boring him endlessly. Still, he had been raised a gentleman and taught the relevance of keeping this kind of connections, so he diligently made a display of his manners and flawless role as a host.

Big groups of people had formed all over the principal salon, chatting lightly with glasses of wine in their hands, filling the room with circles that allowed the butlers to come and go between those improvised corridors of empty space, offering the delicacies the cooks had prepared for the occasion. All of the candles and chandeliers were lit up, filling the lounge with a golden light; the turntable played a waltz. Add stood in the middle of the room with a glass of animal blood that did a great job in passing as wine, looking at his surroundings with a strong displeasure showing just slightly on his partially twisted mouth. He sipped a bit of the liquid, savoring its metallic taste smoothly going down through his throat, his eyes scanning the salon.

"Excuse me, Mister Kim?" a feminine voice took him out of his self-absorption. He looked over to the source of the voice to find an elegantly dressed woman standing in front of him. The daughter of one of the dignitaries, he guessed. "I wanted to thank you personally for the invitation. This is such a lovely party. The set up of the salon is magnificent and the food is delicious, you must have worked really hard to set this up" she said showing a big smile, her tone being too high for his tastes. This sort of conversation was annoying to him, but he managed to show her a smile nonetheless.

"I am greatly honored by your compliments, Miss. I am glad everything I have prepared is of your liking" he answered courteously, smiling down at her charmingly. "Please do enjoy this evening" he added.

"Oh I will, doubtlessly. With a fine man like you as a host, I am certain it will be an enjoyable night" she said, batting her eyelashes while fixing the cleavage of her dress. "You'll have to excuse me for making such a selfish request, but would you mind having this piece of dance with me?" she asked, smiling broadly at him as she interlaced her arm with his. He had to hold back the impulse of flinching with the sudden contact of their arms.

"Of course, allow me to escort you" he conceded, hiding his displeasure. He bent his arm and brought it to his stomach, giving the woman a firm stance to hold on to before walking next to her towards the center of the salon where other couples were dancing to the music. Stopping, she stood in front of him with a big smile, placing a hand on his shoulder lightly and letting him grab her free hand. He held her by the back and started to move swiftly to the rhythm of the waltz, swinging at a perfect timing with the music and guiding her along the way, tracing circles on the spot with their movements. He could sense her eyes scrutinizing his face, waiting for him to stare back, but he couldn't really get into the moment. His eyes kept wandering around the room as the scenery around them changed and repeated itself in circles, taking in their surroundings.

Then, trying to blend with the crowd he spotted her, standing alone in one of the corners of the room with her long black hair tied up in a bun held with a small braid and a few strands of hair falling by the sides of her porcelain face. She wore a long crimson dress that showed off her shoulders, tightly wrapped around her upper body and falling gracefully from her hips with an ample skirt below the black corset. He saw her looking everywhere, examining the people around her like a foreigner, until she noticed him too. Their eyes met for an instant, and for a brief moment it felt like a recreation of the night they met. He felt the woman's body closing the distance between them and her hands tightening their grip on him. His mouth twisted in response.

"What's the matter, Mister Kim? You seem distracted" he heard her say, even though her voice sounded distant. Every turn they made, he managed to lock his eyes to Ara's again and again. He noticed she hadn't stopped looking at him either, because her eyes immediately met his every time.

"Oh, it is nothing. Please, do not worry about me, Miss" he replied, laughing doubtfully under his breath. Every bit of the dance that passed she seemed to close the distance between them even more, talking to him and asking questions he always replied automatically. He felt relieved when the song ended before she could actually throw herself to hug him, and took a step back from her, holding her hand still and directing a faint smile to her. "It has been lovely having this dance with you, Miss. Unfortunately, I must leave you now. Again, please enjoy the evening" he told her, releasing her of his grip and walking away before she had the chance to answer. It had been unpleasant enough for him to put up with more time with that woman.

Add made his way to one of the corners of the lounge, where he knew he would find her. And there she was, standing with her back supported on the wall behind her, her arms folded over her chest. He felt the inquisitive look she directed at him, peering at his face.

"That was a beautiful dance" she commented with a soft voice once he was standing in front of her. He couldn't help but snort at her words. Of course she would say something like that.

"It really wasn't" he replied huskily. One of the butlers walked by and he stopped him with a motion of his hand, grabbing one of the glasses of wine he carried in a tray, and then handed it to Ara.

"Thank you" she said before taking a sip of the dark liquid.

"I didn't think you would come" he said.

"I told you I would, didn't I?" she replied.

"You did, but I didn't think you actually would".

"Well, I am here now. Even though you don't seem to need a partner after all" she retorted, drinking some more without taking her eyes off him for a single second. Her tone struck him as somewhat cunning.

"Are you jealous, perhaps?" he inquired with a mocking tone, followed by the arching of one his eyebrows and a crafty tone. He couldn't help but laugh when she frowned.

"It doesn't really matter if I tell you I am not, does it? You will think whatever you want" she replied, a little bit haughtily.

"That is correct" he said with another, more extended laugh that came out huskily and dryly. "But I won't reject you if you ask me for a dance" he added, speaking cockily to follow up their mocking interaction.

"Actually, there is something I would like to talk to you about, before anything else" she said, her voice now showing the seriousness of her words as her face became stern. He immediately frowned in anticipation, nodding as a way of letting her go on. "When do you think I'll be able to read that book?" she asked, chewing onto her lower lip.

"Do you feel ready?" he asked. She nodded as the only answer, determination showing all over her face. He knew it was something important to her, maybe important to him too, and that it wouldn't be fair to deny her the right of reading that book after all the work they had done towards that objective. Even if it made her hate him in the end. "Do it once the ball is over" he replied.

"Fair enough" she said. "Thank you…for helping me with this. It is really important to me" she added with seriousness. Her words casted a resigned smile to appear on his face. He knew that, the same way he knew that none of that sincere gratitude she was expressing to him was going to exist once she discovered the truth, that nothing was going to be the same. But he could treasure it while it lasted.

"There is absolutely no need to thank me. Now…" he started, offering his arm to her with a charming smile curving his lips, lighting up his face. "May I have this dance?". She laughed lightheartedly in response, interlacing her arm with his tightly and moving closer to him.

"You may" she conceded, grinning at him. He stared at her for a few seconds, noticing the subtle shine in her eyes, the way her smile seemed to bring life to her face. It looked like an expression worth treasuring.

They walked together, side by side to the center of the salon, the same way he had done just a few minutes ago. Except that this time, the atmosphere that surrounded them felt different. She placed one hand delicately over his shoulder, barely touching it, and he held the other with a firm yet soft grip as he brought her closer with a hand on her lower back. Staring into each other's eyes they started to move with the lead of the music accompanying every step, gracefully sliding their feet across the floor as if they weren't even touching it. The way she was looking at him was intense, far from the awe and astonishment with which she glanced at him the day they met. There was no trace of admiration, fear or bewilderment on her gaze but rather a noticeable confidence that could only have its origin on the moments shared. The way she clung to him so firmly showed too that there was no doubt on her movements. Eventually the distance between their bodies became naturally narrower.

As they got even further into the dance he gradually started to be extremely aware of every little sensation and detail. Like the warmth that emanated from her body and how the contact of their hands created a tepid temperature that melted the coldness of his own skin, or how small her back felt under his hand, the way he could feel her accelerated heartbeats against his chest as if they were his own. And how close she seemed to be, and how much closer he wanted her to. He remembered how soft her skin felt against his cheeks the previous night, and how soft her face must had been as well.

He let his hand slide through hers, tracing her palm with his fingers as he slowly moved it back, feeling her gaze piercing into his eyes. Feeling her skin under the tip of his fingers he drew the contour of her arm, then the curve of her shoulder and the shape of her neck. He felt the line of her jaw under his touch and her small chin between his thumb and index finger, the warmth of her breathing close to his nose and the incredible softness of her lips exhaling hot breath into his mouth when he kissed her. With closed eyes they stopped moving, and he pulled her even closer when her arms were wrapped around his neck, cupping her cheek with the palm of his hand, caressing her skin with his thumb. Their lips intertwined shakily, biting onto each other, grabbing and pulling with delicacy, craving that contact over and over again. He heard her groan softly, the wild beating hitting his chest through her body; he felt and savored and pursued the sweetness of her mouth and the way their lips seemed to mold into each other perfectly. Then the heat and humidity of her tongue and the inside of her mouth, loving the way in which it felt so deep and so intimate. Her hands grabbed tightly onto his back and he felt her breathing becoming more and more agitated by the second. He let his lips slide through hers slowly as he moved back, keeping their faces close. She looked up at him with an expression he had never seen before, her eyes so brilliant, so full of a strange and charming emotion that looked like a silent plea. He gazed at her to take everything in and burn it into his memory; her parted lips, her colored cheeks, those wanting eyes. None of them moved an inch, staying close to each other, enjoying the shared warmth.

"I think…I could fall in love with you" he spoke to her in an ever so soft voice that slid through his lips almost naturally, words that he could almost taste. He saw the faint smile that formed on her face, curving her rose lips slightly.

"I think I could too" she replied in a whisper, and his chest felt heavy and full of something soft and alive that tickled him from the inside. He wondered if she felt that as well.

He didn't take his eyes off her for a single second, peering down at her face. That's why he was able to see the exact moment in which her eyes focused in something else, something behind him, and the second her expression distorted into one of horror. Her hands slowly left his shoulders, moving to his chest with a doubtful motion. He turned around to see what she was seeing. She muttered something under her breath.

"Elesis…".

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 **Welp, it happened.**

 **Artemicon: Thank you! But...what do you mean?**

 **nanashimai: He certainly is a really troubled man, poor thing.**

 **Also, what's that about the 'citrus fruit' and 'is the lime coming soon' thing, are you guys talking about lemon? If so, how dare you, you sinful little things.**

 **My bf said the first part kinda looks like they're having sex, and I re-read it and...I guess it kinda does? Well THERE YOU GO, until the real thing comes i guess.**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know how you feel about it and if you're enjoying the fic so far!**

 **See you soon.**


	19. Chapter 18

**Long time no see!**

 **Believe it or not, I didn't forget about updating. I actually had to rewrite this chapter a hundred times until I had something that I actually felt satisfied with. And with a bunch of stuff to do between each attempt, of course. But as I told you on an author's note, this fanfic isn't dead until I say so myself!**

 **So uh, enjoy?**

 **I do not own Elsword nor its characters.**

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The tense atmosphere was so dense it seemed to condense and wrap tightly around her; the derogative stares of those elegantly dressed people around her weighting on her back, following every step. She knew her worn out fighting clothes made her stand out in the crowd, but she was oblivious to the negative attention everyone threw on her like invisible knives of disapprobation. Her eyes were fixed on the couple at the center of the salon, her determination unrelenting, erasing her surroundings. A soft waltz played shyly on the background as the sound of the cutting edge of her sword scratching the tiles took over the room like a dreadful sentence making multiple faces flinch in unison.

Her gaze fixated on the pale face of her old friend, that traitor. How immensely irritating it was to see her with that self-sufficient and fearless expression, even though she noticed her eyebrows furrowing just slightly in anger or worry, she couldn't tell. Ara held her stare firmly, not even flinching at the threat she represented for both of them or the surprise of her presence. Sometimes she forgot how strong of a woman she was. That white haired abomination, on the other hand, showed absolutely no expression whatsoever.

She walked slowly, almost savoring each step taking her closer to the purge she had set her mind on. All of the pieces had suddenly clicked together one day, showing the horrible picture to her. Ever since the ball had taken place she had been pondering about the shadowy events of that night in the alleyway, a feeling in her guts urging her to believe there was something wrong about what had happened. And then she remembered, the dried out body on the ground, the man with the shotgun, that monster covered in blood; the liquid that dripped out of his mouth. She understood he was dangerous, but then the marks all over Ara's body every time she came back home at night and the multiple bodies the group managed to find, without a single trace of blood spilling out of them. The demons weren't as clean or careful as to fix the mess their inhuman hunger used to leave, so there had to be something else. And it made sense. The mythical creatures of the books, the kings of the demons that had their fearsome presence reduced to legends for so long; it was clear it was one of them. And to top it off, her loyal friend and comrade had been feeding him. If it was true that vampires were the most powerful upon the demons then they had to have their hands on what had been tormenting the town for centuries. And she was going to stop it, even if it meant erasing old friends, traitors, out of the way.

The ample room filled with exclamations of surprise and horror when the tip of her sword met eye-level with Ara, who had positioned herself in front of the white haired man. Add, was it? She couldn't remember his name. Ara didn't flinch; she didn't take a single step back. Her stance was protective, her expression impassive. Elesis knew perfectly well how impossible it was going to be to convince her out of her own ways; the fierce shine on her eyes reminded her that.

"How rude of you to attend a ball uninvited. And what's more, carrying a weapon" the girl in front of her spoke with a silky voice, shaking her head softly in a gesture of disapproval. It was hard to believe how not too long ago they had hugged each other tightly in the middle of a dark room, filled with the corpses of their friends, comforting each other. And now she was talking to her with such a cold and distant tone, like an old enemy. But of course, she was pointing at her with a sword.

"Move, or I'll slice you too" Elesis said merely, her own determination flooding the unshakable voice that came out huskily through her throat. Ara had betrayed their cause, but if she let her kill the monster without interruptions her life could be spared. She was an old friend, after all. She heard the multitude gasp in horror, whimper and exclaim in confusion. The sounds of the crowd moving disorderly filled the room. She felt multiple steps hurrying towards her from behind, and she moved quickly around to face the disgusting expressions of those soulless servants that came to stop her from hurting their master. They moved like automats, it was going to be no problem for her to finish them. She swung her sword skillfully, aiming for their heads when they threw themselves at her, wanting to grab her and restrain her limbs. The cutting edge of her weapon reached for the neck of one of them, it was going to be a clean cut, but it stopped in mid air.

Ara's body was pressing against her back, her firm grip restraining her hands, holding her wrists. Elesis movements were fast, but so were hers. How could she forget? Her arms were strongly retained. She gave a step back, swinging her arm backwards, aiming her elbow to the girl's chest. With a single, swift movement she dodged to a side, releasing Elesis wrists from one of her hands for a short moment she used to shake her grip off and free both of her arms. Immediately after Ara was in front of her, taking advantage of that second of confusion to hit her wrists harshly, nearly making her drop her sword. The handle slipped briefly from the palms of her hands, she hurried to catch it again before it would hit the ground but the other girl's hands had already grabbed it. Both of them had the handle between their hands and were looking into each other's eyes with sparkles of resolution shinning on them dangerously. If she wanted to free herself from that inconvenient situation she had to act fast.

Elesis charged against her, using her shoulders to push her away and, hopefully, force her to let go of her sword. But as much as she wanted her to lose her balance and drop the weapon, her grip on it was way too firm and her reaction way too fast. Of course, she was a martial artist after all; but what could she do, dressed like that? Ara moved to the side quickly, using the momentum of Elesis charge to her advantage when her knee rose up to intercept her body and her arms pulled of the handle downwards, forcing Elesis to lose balance and fall forward over her bent knee. The impossible position of the redhead's arms gave her free way to take possession of the sword completely, ripping it out of her hands with ease.

Fearing Ara would take the chance to cut through her with the sword, she stood up quickly. But the ebonette threw the weapon away, making a loud, metallic noise when its edge hit the tiles. The people gathering around them moved away when the sword fell to the ground.

"Listen everyone! I deeply appreciate your presence here, but I beg you to leave the castle immediately in order to preserve your safety! Worry not, this lunatic is soon going to be taken care of!" the strong and deep voice of the up until then silent host of the party resounded on the large salon, urging everyone to leave. The crowd started to move hurriedly towards the big gates of the entrance, murmuring excitedly on their way out. The big room was soon emptied until there was no one but the three of them and the servants. Elesis glared at him furiously, a killer instinct shinning on her eyes as she ran towards her disposed sword. But Ara intercepted her again, pressing her foot down against the metal, holding the weapon on its place. She looked at her defiantly.

"Elesis, please calm yourself down now" the woman said calmly, yet with a authoritative undertone on her voice that made a chill run down through her spine.

"He is a vampire isn't he? A demon. I haven't forgotten about our duty, unlike you" she retorted with a poisonous tone, anger twirling on her stomach.

"Oh, I haven't either" she furrowed her brows. "But it has nothing to do with this" she replied.

"It does! He's a demon! He's killed innocents for blood! He's a murderer, probably allied with the demons invading us" she shouted with exasperation, getting closer and closer to Ara as she clenched her fists.

"Why is it only black and white with you? Don't you understand the world works in a more complex way? How can you talk like that when you don't really understand what's happening?" she reproached her irritated, not even needing to raise her tone as well to show how much Elesis words bothered her. "Do you really think I'd side with someone even remotely related to the tragedy that has been hurting everyone, myself included?" she added, narrowing her eyes to gaze at her with anger.

"You're such an hypocrite…" she started saying, her words violently cut off by a hand that grabbed her neck from behind, lifting her in the air as if she weighted nothing, the moment her body started to move towards Ara furiously. She found herself at least a meter from the ground, her legs hanging without being able to do much to release herself. The strength with which she was being held was enough to choke her if it had been applied to the front of her neck instead. Looking down, she saw the white haired man holding her up. Rage built up inside of her even more. "Let go of me, you monster!" she shouted.

Add looked up at her with a blank expression, every muscle on his face unmovable, yet with a dangerous light blazing on his eyes. She saw them slowly turning from their regular magenta shade to a dark red, shadowing over his gaze.

"You dare to walk into my residence carrying a sword, scare everyone away, threaten to kill me, then attack your own friend" he spoke calmly, a gelid tone making the air around them freeze for a moment. "And you call me a monster?".

She saw how Ara picked the sword up from the ground, handing it to one of the servants that had previously tried to attack her. The expressionless, moving corpse took the weapon away. Then the girl looked up to meet her gaze.

"Enough is enough, Elesis. If there's a savage in this room, it is you" she started, frowning. "I want justice and revenge as much as you do. Do not dare forgetting that. But this is not the way to do it, Add has nothing to do with all of this. If you won't trust him, then trust me".

"Trust you? You're a traitor" she retorted angrily. The strength applied on her increasing every second.

"Oh? How have I betrayed you? Have you noticed those dried out-bodies-killings have stopped completely? Why do you think that is?" she said coldly. "My family, my friends, everyone I know have been killed by demons. I've suffered as much as you have, I want revenge as much as you do. Then why would you think I'd side with someone even remotely responsible for what has happened? Use your head, Elesis" she added, her voice starting to shake slightly with irritation.

Elesis held her stare for several seconds, feeling on her the weight of her words, the weight of her feelings and intentions being conveyed to her. She saw into those honey eyes and felt the seriousness behind them, the deep compromise that hid under that penetrating and strong gaze. She felt like a fool.

"Let me go!" she shouted to the top of her lungs, nearly ripping off her own throat. Her legs started to move forward and backwards, kicking disorderly the chest and stomach of the man holding her up. But his body didn't move an inch with her hits and he remained impassive.

"As you wish" he spoke huskily before letting go of her.

Before her body could hit the ground, Ara took a step closer to wrap her arms around her back, holding her firmly. She struggled to break free from her firm, yet gentle grip but the other girl didn't move.

"Elesis…I know it is hard to listen to what I'm asking you to do. I know he has killed innocents before, and that it is inexcusable. But please hear me out. I am your friend; I have always been, so trust me with this. I would never do anything to hurt those who don't deserve it; I would never abandon the cause that has motivated me all my life. I won't betray our duty, nor the pain that has made us comrades, nor the memory of our friends" she spoke softly, strongly. "There are things I need to do, things I need to discover. Things that he can help me with, so please understand. Not everything is as absolute as you think it is. So leave it to me".

She pushed her away, finally releasing herself from the hug.

"Just one mistake and you'll both regret it. I'm not forgetting this, Ara, Add" she spoke coldly, her pride broken inside of her, hurting her chest. "I will know" she said finally before walking away from them, feeling the burning gaze of that man piercing on her back as she left for the entrance of the castle, completely defeated. One thing was for sure, she wasn't going to forgive. Just to honor the friendship that had held them together for so many years, through so many fights, she chose to believe what her old comrade had to say. Even if she wanted, she couldn't forget all the time they had spent together, fighting for the same cause, with the same vehemence and conviction. She had seen the rage boiling inside of Ara, showing on her eyes before and so many times in the past when facing the demons. The same kind of gaze she showed her today, it was something she couldn't shake off. Ara was being honest, she knew her enough to know. That man, on the other hand, was someone she couldn't trust. Even if her friend's intentions were good, nothing could prove to her that Add shared them, that he wasn't manipulating her into believing he was a good companion. She had nothing left but being attentive to whatever could happen in the future, and be there to exterminate him if he proved to be a threat. In the meantime, Ara was strong enough to protect herself.

The sword had been neatly placed next to the big gates, waiting for her to leave. A grunt escaped from her throat as she grabbed the handle, placing the sword back onto its scabbard. Taking a moment to look at her friend for the last time, she turned her head to gaze back at the big salon. Both of them were still standing in the middle of it, now closer. They were looking into each other's eyes, she had her hands placed delicately on his chest and her eyes displayed an expression of pure seriousness. He stood still, looking down at her. They were talking calmly, and she could see a hint of worry on Ara's eyes as she looked up at him. Then, both of them walked up the stairs into the second floor of the castle, he was leading the way in front of her.

Elesis furrowed her brows as the old woodened door creaked, revealing the dark exterior showing in front of her.

Just what was it that she had to discover?

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 **And that's it!**

 **Please feel free to review or write me a message if you want, leave your impressions, etc~**

 **Until next time.**


	20. Chapter 19

**As a way of apologizing for taking so long to update the fanfic, I'm publishing this chapter right away!**

 **Hope you enjoy it!**

 **I don't own Elsword nor its characters blablabla.**

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Her heart was throbbing wildly inside her chest, the walls around them seemingly imitating the anxious movements of her contained euphoria. A soft waltz was still playing in the distance, bringing its delicate sound to her from the salon on the first floor, the wooden floor creaking under every step. The whole castle was trembling along with her body, as if it also felt the emotion of the anticipation, anxiety for the secrets that were about to be unfolded inside of it. She felt a slight hint of nostalgia for the abruptly interrupted ball, its trace vaguely following with an unsettling sensation. She watched the man in front of her, the tall figure that moved so securely to lead her towards the long awaited event. His silvery hair swung side to side on his back as he walked, following his movements softly.

As Add introduced the key on the key lock, she thought about the recent events. The irruption of her old friend, how she threatened them both, how she charged towards them; how his eyes had suddenly turned a dangerous red when he stopped Elesis from aiming against her, the inhuman strength he had displayed. She thought about the demons too, about her family and her friends. She thought about her brother. In the couple of seconds it took him to unlock the door open for them hundreds of images invaded her mind, filling her with a strange feeling that constricted her chest. It felt like a resolution.

Inside the small room, the big tome emitted a dim, lilac light from its center, invading it with its magical aura. Her heartbeats accelerated, the old pages called for her silently, attracting her towards the book that contained her desired knowledge. She took a couple of steps closer and ran her fingers delicately over the yellowy pages, tracing its marks like in a trance, letting herself be enveloped by that mystical aura, bathing her skin with the light. Turning her head slowly she glanced at him, seeking for the approval to go on. He nodded just slightly, and it was enough.

After exhaling largely, she concentrated her attention on the words that were hand-written with ink over the old paper. She took a moment to recognize the words, to organize them inside her head, to let them sink inside. Then, her voice started to give life to the ancient manuscript, making the words dance in the air as she read on that strange language that she had worked so hard on learning. Savoring every letter that slipped through her lips she continued page after page, secretly hoping for her words to take the shape of a magical vision, to surround them with light. The anticipation sank inside the pit of her stomach minute after minute, making a knot inside of her that became tighter each second as she got near the end of the chapter. And nothing was happening, but the expression on her face slowly started to change; the feelings that flooded her insides started to turn little by little into a skeptical astonishment.

The last word slipped out through her tongue, and she could feel the world turning upside down in a matter of seconds. She turned around quickly to catch a glimpse at Add, who was laying his back against the wall next to the door. Arms folded over his chest, his head slightly bent, gaze rooted to the floor, hair covering his face, shadowing it. She knew he was now refusing to look back.

How? How could he not say something so important? After she had sworn he wasn't involved in the demon invasion?

She thought about the impression the castle had made on her the first time she stood in front of it, and that it still made. How it felt so enchanting, so magic, so full of something mysterious and supernatural. Now it made sense. Of course it felt magical, because it was. The ground in which it was built was enough. But how? She wanted to look out the windows, see the gardens, have her eyes be the first witnesses of what she had just learnt. Hurrying to the nearest balcony, she opened the door brusquely, supporting both of her hands on the railing and pressing her upper body against it to glance outside. It was pitch black, but the contours of the backyard filled with tall trees were still distinguishable thanks to the generous lighting of the moon shinning above, casting white traces of every shape. It was very subtle, but she could see a soft light being emitted from the ground, barely perceptible.

She was angry now, very angry, her hands gripping strongly on the rail. Storming back into the room she found herself gripping onto Add's clothes strongly, pulling of his shirt and forcing him to look at her.

"Did you know about this all along? Are you responsible for this? Did you have anything to do with the invasion? Did you cause this?!" she asked with an agitated tone, her voice sounding close to a groan, as the volume increased with each question. She held his stare when he looked down at her impassively.

"Yes, I did know about this. But I had nothing to do neither with that nor with the invasion. I am not related to the demons in any way. How could I? All of this started even before I was born, centuries ago, didn't it?" he retorted calmly, even when he was being strongly pulled and the aggressive stare of Ara threatened to cut him.

"Sure you hadn't" she retorted exasperatedly, tightening her grip on him; skeptical.

"Do you really think I'd show you this if I really had something to do with all of this? Think, Ara. Use your head" he scolded her, his face forming an irritated expression that furrowed his brows just slightly. He placed his hands on her shoulders, gently pushing her back, silently asking her to regain composure.

"Of course you hadn't" she replied, her voice slowly morphing to a tamer one as her hands slid through his chest, releasing the shirt. "But what is there to be done about this? That's clearly not an incantation. Was there a ritual to create this in the first place? Or has it always been like this? Is this terrain just like that or did someone open it up? Can we close it?" she asked anxiously, frustration building up inside of her as the consciousness of her own impotence sank in. There had to be something they could do about it, otherwise everything she had done up until then would be completely useless. There had to be a closure to this torment.

"I am not sure. The vampire that raised me told me this terrain had been occupied by vampires for centuries, for generations. He said it was special, that it couldn't be inhabited by normal humans or it'd be catastrophic. I didn't understand why until he taught me how to read the very same chapter you just saw. But he never referred to it being an incantation, nor the natural state of the castle" he explained calmly, relaxing now that she had let go of him and moving his hands to cover hers over his chest. "But there might be a way to fix it. That is, if it really is only and incantation and we manage to find the correct spell to close it. If it were to be just the way things had always been then…there's no hope" he finished, glancing down at her with uncertainty, waiting to measure up the effects that his words would have on her.

"But how? I've never used magic, I can't just cast a spell" she replied.

"Yes you can. Magic comes in many forms. Some people are born with the ability to manipulate it at will, others carry power on their words. And there's magic on books too, magic that can be unleashed by pronouncing the correct words, the correct way" he explained, his fingers gently interlacing with hers. "You have proven to be studious. I am sure you can cast the proper spell if you commit enough to it and learn what you need to".

Ara looked up at him, their eyes meeting intensely.

"Will you help?" she asked with a soft voice. He squeezed her hands, an almost imperceptible smile curving his lips just slightly.

"I have books" he merely replied.

Just then, a powerful sound echoed through the walls of the castle. The vibration of a pendulum clock annunciating midnight, filtering through the walls, filling the small room. Ara brought a hand to her cheek and sighed profusely, knowing that it meant for her the closed doors of her residence. Add spoke again.

"Oh my, are you going to transform now?" he asked with a mocking tone as a small chuckle escaped his lips, a subtle smile twisting his mouth to a side. She looked at him with tender reproach before laughing softly as well.

"I am afraid not, to your disappointment. It just means I won't be able to go back to my room until morning" she said with a tone that mixed a joking attitude with a conflicted mien. Spending the night out was certainly not going to be looked with sympathy by the owner of the inn. She seemed to have a bad opinion of Ara just the way things were, and it wasn't going to get better with her breaking the inn's rules. She would probably have to prepare for a reprimand as soon as she made it back.

"Then I guess the plebeian will have to spend the night at the prince's castle. What a twist of the story" he said, still mocking her. It gained him a soft push from her.

"You call yourself a prince, how daring" she laughed. But it was true, in a way. She remembered perfectly the impression he had made on her the first night she saw him, and how she thought his attitude and his manners resembled those of a noble. Even if he didn't have any title nor a connection with royalty, he did look and acted like part of it. She glanced briefly towards the big tome sitting at the reading desk in the middle of the room, with its lilac glow enveloping it. It looked like it was waiting for something, as if it were asking her to do something. Of course she was going to comply with that silent petition. She turned to look at Add once again. "Should we study, then?" she asked.

Add sighed, bringing his thumb and index finger to the bridge of his nose, making a seemingly exasperated sound.

"I knew you would ask that. Of course you would" he said, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Wait here, then, I'll bring the book" he said before walking out of the room, leaving her to explore the thick tome some more by herself.

Even if her knowledge of the ancient language was limited, she was actually able to understand some of the phrases inside the book, some titles here and there. At least she had enough clues to find a chapter referring to what they needed to do. The terms "demon realm" or "human realm", "portal", "summoning incantation" or "gate closure" would be enough to lead her to a starting point. She skipped through the pages at a fast rate, checking for familiar characters or known words. But they still weren't completely certain that this method was going to work, or if it was even possible to do in the first place. Yet the only hope fell in that one chance.

Looking through the book, she found a particular title that caught her attention. Thanks to that portion of the language she had managed to learn, she could read it perfectly. "Dark Spectral Energy Spells" it said with beautifully traced letters. Unable to understand the emotions that were accumulating inside of her, drawing her attention towards that chapter, she kept reading. It felt like she was being pulled by it, a hypnotic sensation invading her completely as she examined the words that revealed the ancient incantations. She understood a big part of the instructions; one passage that was particularly clear to her spoke about the specific words to cast one of the spells. She had to try it, even if she didn't understand why it was so terribly appealing to her. Add had said there was magic in books, magic that could be freed by just pronouncing the right words.

Following the instructions carefully, she extended her right arm perfectly straight, pointing to the farthest wall in front of her. Using her left hand to follow the lines of the paragraph, she started to read the words out loud, making her best to pronounce them the way Add had taught her. The words slipped through her lips causing a ticklish sensation inside her stomach, they were dancing in the air in front of her, floating lightly and impregnating the room with an atmosphere that caused her anxiety and anticipation. The tips of her fingers started to vibrate with a strange sensation, heat invaded her body. She kept reading until the air in front of her started to swirl, the walls around her vibrating strongly. Still casting the spell she looked up for a brief moment, feeling like something was changing vertiginously. Where her hand was pointing a strange vision had appeared. Red and orange light shining brightly in a circular motion, fast like a swirl. And it was sucking everything around it.

The door opened up abruptly, showing a confused Add under its frame.

"Just what are you doing?!" he exclaimed with a hint of irritation shaking his voice. All of those sudden sounds surprised her. She fell quiet, withdrawing her arm from its former position. As soon as she stopped the process the strange vortex disappeared with a small explosion, sucking itself to extinction. Astonished, she unconsciously took a couple of steps back; feeling like a portion of energy inside her body had been drained. Add held her by the shoulders, looking around the room with confusion and alarm showing all over his face.

"I…casted a spell" she said, and both of them fell silent.

* * *

 **Fun fact. I was going to write a lemon scene here, but I wrote it with my bf next to me so I got embarrassed and ended up not doing it. Sorry!**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to leave a review!**

 **See you soon.**


	21. Chapter 20

**Ahhhhhhhhhhh it's too soon but I couldn't resist.**

 **Please enjoy!**

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The long sessions of reading and studying had come back, with the same procedures as before. They went through the grammar and vocabulary together, and she would recite the words out loud for him to correct her and teach her the correct way of pronouncing them. However, this time both of them had things to learn. With Add having the knowledge of only a limited portion of the ancient language, the tasks at hand were for the two of them to accomplish, and not just her. He felt like it was fun in a way. He couldn't even remember if there had been another time where things had felt so familiar and soothing. Even if the situation they were in and the objective they had imposed upon themselves were something they had to take extremely seriously and with all the care and responsibility possible, it was inevitable to feel at ease even in a situation like that. Because no matter what he wanted to think, he had grown fond of her and the time they had started to spend together so frequently. Doing the reading on his own had always been enough for him, his entire life, but having a partner to share this interest for knowledge was better than he could have ever imagined it to be. He wondered if he would be able to get used to his familiar lonesomeness after she disappeared from his life forever. That was an unavoidable fate, he knew it perfectly well.

He became absorbed in these thoughts, so much that her voice was now an echo in the back of his mind, slowly trailing off to a soft murmur.

"Hey, are you listening?" she asked, rhetorically of course, because it was clear that his attention was anywhere else but in her impeccable reciting. He glanced at her slowly being pulled out of his brief trance, and he saw the frown that had formed wrinkles in her pale forehead. He couldn't help but twist his mouth in a strange smile. He was the one that always scolded her for spacing out.

"No" he answered shortly, honestly. She huffed in response. "Don't you want to take a break? It has been hours" he added, closing the thick book between his hands after marking the page they had left in with a silk lace, setting it over a small table by the armchairs. Of course he didn't wait for her answer to declare the studying over and start putting the books back on its place, because she had to be as tired as he was of going over the translating task for hours.

"Just a couple. It's only two in the morning" she said glancing over at a pendulum clock that hung from a near wall. "But I guess you already decided for both of us" she complied reluctantly, albeit forming a small smile with her curved lips.

He stood up with the stack of books between his hands, placing them neatly back into the tall shelves, using the few free spaces here and there as a guide. He thought back on what had happened recently, on that strange vortex that Ara had somehow managed to cast. He guessed that if she could obtain more power to accomplish her goals, through magic, then it would be a good thing. There were unlimited possibilities to what magic could do, and it was a wonderful thing that she could take advantage of that. Unlike him. Because he was special, his old master had once said. Because he was already blessed, or cursed, with abilities that humans could never even dream of having. Because he was already superior to everything that existed, humans and demons equally. But he didn't agree. He had studied magic a couple of times in the past, only for the process to end in frustration. But he thought it was something marvelous. The same girl that was now standing next to him, humming softly to herself, had been able to create something completely out of nowhere, something that didn't exist before her words. How could that not be amazing? To create realities with only words.

Just then, he remembered something. If she had proven to be capable of casting spells and using the magic contained in books, then there was something she needed to learn. Both of them needed her to learn it. For her own sake and for his too, he had to show it to her.

"Come with me" he told her abruptly as he took a hold of her hand and started dragging her out of the library. She didn't seem surprised, probably because she was already used to his random outbursts. So she followed him obediently back into the room with the ancient tome placed in the middle. Several things were missing in that room, mostly books, from the vortex that had swallowed them all. He tried his hardest not to get irritated over something that couldn't be fixed anymore.

"What is it?" she asked, peeking over his shoulder while he skipped through the pages of the tome, looking for a particular chapter. He examined each title as quickly as possible to advance through the book, until he found the one he was looking for. It talked mostly about restoration. He remembered reading it during one of his failed sessions of magic studying. He didn't have any use for it, but she did. One that could benefit them both. Marking the specific passage with his index finger, he turned his body partially; enough for her to be able to read what he was indicating and having a space next to him. She got closer to read.

"Restoration?" she asked. "Why are you showing me this?".

"Because you need it. Learn this words, memorize them perfectly well and never forget them from now on" he told her with a serious expression that led her to imitate him. She reclined some more over his body to read the page carefully. He watched her patiently as she went over the phrases by practicing the sounds silently with the movements of her lips. It took her a while, but she indicated with a nod when she was ready with the memorization.

He cupped her cheeks with both of his hands as tenderly as he could, closing the distance between them slowly. He saw her closing her eyes before he could bury his face against her warm neck.

"Remember it correctly, because I'm starving" he whispered to her with a deep voice. She exhaled, and only then he allowed himself to dig his fangs into her tender flesh. He could feel something vibrating strongly inside of him. Hunger and desire invading his body as the hot liquid started to flow through his tongue, flooding his mouth pleasurably. A deep groan escaped his lips and drowned slowly through the blood and against the skin he was pressing his mouth on. An amount of blood he had never dared to take from her before was now inundating his insides with a sensation he had never experienced before, not even when those bodies were drained. This time, it didn't feel like the beast was threatening to devour him, but like an intense heat had managed to tame the monster inside of him, satisfying its thirst. His body was starting to tremble, just like her fragile complexion did between his arms like a moon in the water. Several groans managed to come through his throat and he could have sworn he heard her moan quietly too. He pressed her body tightly against his and let himself be devoured by that amazing heat. Just then, when he felt her hands weakly grabbing onto his shoulders he took his fangs out of her slowly, sucking onto the remaining blood that stained her neck, licking off the red liquid all over his mouth and chin. "Say the words now" he cooed with a soft voice, holding her against his chest as gently as possible.

He heard her muttering. Her soft voice pronouncing that ancient language that had opened so many doors and solutions for them, the language that held her fate. The words left her mouth slowly, as if they had life of their own, floating in the air. He could almost see them, touch them, and savor them. And then, when the last word of the incantation had been said, he could feel that body between his arms slowly coming back to life. Slowly but steadily recovering its strength.

"I think it works. I still need to rest, but it definitely works" she assured, a small hint of excitement showing barely noticeably on her voice as she spoke. "I almost felt like all of my energy was being sucked out, but it is slowly coming back now" she added, a small smile on her face.

Even if she was still weak, the only reason for what he did to be even possible was the fact that she could chant that spell on herself. He would have never dared do something as risky as that if he didn't know it was going to work. Magic was a wonderful thing, after all.

Still holding her between his arms and having kept his face deeply buried against the birth of her neck, he allowed himself to inhale profusely and take in the delicious aroma that the wounds on her skin gave off. He felt now completely soothed and relaxed; satisfied. It was no longer a smell that made him lose himself to his darkest instincts, but one that was able to make him full and content. He felt at peace with what laid in his interior for the first time in his entire life, now that he had been able to engulf in that precious pleasure.

"I've desired to do that for such a long time..." he whispered with a deep and husky voice, almost only to himself. Being completely honest and transparent for once. That was the kind of feeling that was flooding him. He heard her laugh softly and then a gentle hand caressing his head, softly running through his hair in an ever so relaxing way. He sank onto her some more.

"You had too much fun, didn't you?" she muttered, affection showing in that humorous reproach. He couldn't do anything but chuckle. "Now I want to eat something too. Do you know how to cook?" she asked.

"No. We can just ask the servants to make you something" he said, his voice muffling against her skin.

"You shouldn't bother them this late" she reproached softly.

"They can't be bothered by anything. They're just reanimated corpses" he explained with a tone that came out lazier than he'd wanted. But it was the only thing he could manage.

"Oh...how morbid" she said, unimpressed. If it was something that would have surprised her a while back in time, now she was almost completely impermeable to that sort of thing. That's what getting to bond with a vampire did to people, she guessed.

And so they sat down at the dining table for Ara to enjoy the delicious meal the servants had been ordered to prepare. It was a luxury she could get used to, but she'd never get tired of. Even if it already was the usual treatment she received whenever she visited the castle, it would never stop surprising her how amazingly good everything was. Even if it came from soulless bodies. Add sat in front of her, enjoying of the lecture of one of his books, as usual. She knew better than to interrupt him whenever he decided to be dragged into a different world inside the pages of an old book. Even if it was a non-fictional one about medicine or anatomy, they still were enticing enough for him to be almost completely absent while following its words. In a way, it was something she could appreciate, understand and even envy. She knew how to read, something that most women of her class range couldn't do. But she had never had the access to literature that Add had inherited since he was young. Sometimes she wished for the chance to disappear in a different world too. Maybe she would ask him to borrow one of his books; maybe even poetry.

Such were the thoughts that kept her distracted during dinner, yet she found herself being pulled out of her own mind when she heard the sound of a book closing and the husky voice of the man in front of her, who was now staring at her intently.

"If you're done then I'm guessing we can go to sleep now?" he asked her as he stood up to leave his book on its place, in one of the nearest shelves.

"Do you even need to sleep?" she questioned back.

"Of course not, it's just a way of saying it. You'll go to sleep and I'll go to my room and read something until I get bored. Then maybe, just maybe, I'll sleep out of boredom" he told her, finishing his words with a soft chuckle.

She laughed lightly, standing up and leaving the chair back on its place before following him upstairs. He led the way towards one of the many guest rooms that filled the castle, unoccupied for centuries. It wasn't clear if they had ever been used at all in the first place. They stopped in front of one near the master bedroom and he unlocked the door and opened it for her. She walked in, trying to take in her surroundings. The room was of a similar style to the rest of the castle. A damask wallpaper all over the room of a soft turquoise, matching the linens and the pillows, and dark, leathery furniture. It was as dark as the rest of the castle, yet equally beautiful.

"Well then, goodnight" he said before closing the door behind him, leaving her alone to accommodate in the bedroom. She untied the laces of her corset carefully, helping herself with her reflection on a tall mirror right in front of the bed. She left her dress neatly hanged inside the robust wardrobe after taking it off, staying in only her undergarments. She didn't have anything to change into, after all. Untying her hair she took a moment to contemplate herself in front of the mirror, combing it with her fingers delicately, as she used to do every night. Then, through the reflection, she set her attention on a small shelf next to the bed, containing several books of beautifully decorated covers, and her mind went back to what had her so distracted during dinner. She wanted to read. No, better said, she wanted Add to read for her. Maybe a play or poetry.

She remembered back to the first night she met him during the ball, how his deep and husky voice and his inflections, the way he spoke had her so mesmerized, so enchanted. Of course she had gotten used to it overtime, but she knew it had to be something special if charmingly written words were to be whispered by it. And now she couldn't take that idea out of her mind, she wanted to try.

With a book titled "Shakespeare Sonnets" in her hand, she made her way to where she knew were Add's bedroom. Standing in front of the wooden door, she had to bite her own lip to contain the puckish smile that was tickling on her lips. She knocked on the door softly, and then waited for his voice to say "come in" and be granted permission to walk inside. He gazed at her with attention; the dim light of an oil lamp placed at a night table by the bed traced golden contours on the woman's gracefully moving figure, as she walked closer to him. He saw the book in her hand and a subtle smile managed to appear on his lips.

"A bed time story, I figure?" he said with a soft voice, as he left his own book next to the bed. He received only a brief nod for an answer, and received her selection from her hands when she climbed onto the bed next to him. What was this sudden heat he felt? If he were to have a functioning heart, this would be the closest to it beating wildly inside his chest he'd ever be. He felt her soft body cuddling tenderly against his side as he skipped through the pages, looking for a sonnet to read. Her hand felt warm and soft against his skin when she started tracing the shape of his neck and shoulder delicately with the tips of her fingers. He stopped the search.

" _Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks_ "

Her fingers looked confidently for his cheeks, caressing the contour of his face with delightful gentleness. His chin trapped between her thumb and index finger, enticingly drawing him nearer. Her lips felt hot against his coldness, affectionately attracting him to a sweet game of push and pull, untiringly trapping him and caressing him with the inebriating sensation of that humid softness. He let himself rediscover her shapes with care, sweetly following the lead of her bold temptation. He felt every inch of his skin being tended by her touch, so he allowed her to entangle them both with humid breath and heated insinuations of affection.

" _But bears it out even to the edge of doom_ "

The invigorating touch of their skins was both soothing and inciting, with limbs and members that confused each other into a mess of warm caresses, the agitated exchange of their heat and coldness and her tongue between his lips. Piece by piece taken from and devoted to the other, through that blurry line where one ended and one started, both bathed more and more in pleasured grunts, moans and whimpering that flooded the room to erase it completely. He could feel every part of her body, every pore of her deliciously heated skin in his arms, in his mouth, in his stomach and in his everything. Every part of him and her undoubtedly connected to her and him, pulling and biting and licking and trembling.

" _If this be error and upon me proved_ "

He felt her hot breath on his mouth when she moaned and toyed with his lips and his tongue. And he'd swear he could have swallowed her whole if there were to be any closer and any more enticed by the other's hands, skin and sweat. And maybe if he could go any deeper into her he'd do it, if it meant this vibrating and agony being endless. She was delightfully soft and warm and humid and enveloping, so amazingly attracting with her hands all over his body and their legs in such a hot mess of confusion and losing themselves inside, and around and all over. A silent oath of pleasure and ecstasy delivered when she let her hands get lost between his hair and his fingers roamed still over her softness.

If there was an eternity they could reach, that exact moment would probably contain it all and overflow.

" _I never writ, nor no man ever loved_ ".

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 **Please note that the parts with italics are fragments of Shakespeare Sonnets, and not mine. **

**So...I just wanted to say that I see you. Yeah, I see you reading. So why won't you review ;_; just wondering.**

 **Anyway ahhhh it happened.**

 **Goodbye.**

 **PD: And one last thing. Nanashimai: You're really really sweet and i love you and your reviews make me so happy and i'm glad that you enjoy it so much aaaa ;-;**


	22. Chapter 21

**Let's just get right into it.**

 **Enjoy!**

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Ara woke up to a dark room that morning. The fact that the sun had risen already a few hours ago wasn't at all noticeable when no ray of light penetrated through the thick, purplish curtains. A familiar smell filled her lungs soothingly; she smiled, still with her eyes closed, to the knowledge of proximity. Moving lazily around she enjoyed the feeling of that soft touch of the sheets against her skin. She felt well rested, relaxed; her mind had melted into a state of pure blankness and carefreeness. No feelings of uneasiness or worry had place inside. She stretched her arm a little bit and touched the skin she knew she'd find, without needing to open her eyes. The only thing that was necessary at that moment in which her body felt so light and so deliciously caressed by the mattress and the sheets that her mind was free of any kind of thought. Her fingertips ran through the prominences of the body she had came to know. Up and down through collarbones, flat chest and stomach and then that curve again on the bones of his hips. How she loved those bones.

"Aren't you going a little bit too far there?" the particularly hoarse voice came from high up like a tender reproach at which she could do nothing but smile.

"No" she replied throatily as her arm covered his waist loosely. She drew nearer, planting a small kiss on his side, before finally opening her eyes. The darkness of the bedroom made it easy to transition from the night of sleep she still hadn't shaken off. He was sitting on the bed with his back partially supported against the pillows, in his hands the book he had left aside the previous night. "Did you sleep?" she asked.

"No. You were snoring the whole time so I had to read instead" he replied without taking his eyes off the pages of the book. One of his hands travelled to the back of her head, tangling her hair between his fingers.

"What? Did I really?" she questioned with a slight frown, incorporating to sit down next to him.

"Not really" he said with the same serious tone as before, gaining a soft push from her on his shoulder.

She snuggled on his arm, nuzzling against his jaw affectionately as her fingers traced the shape of his side. Urging him silently to take his attention off the book she started to draw the curve between his neck and shoulder with her lips, giving small kisses to his skin. The desire of closeness and contact motivated her to display the tenderness she had never shown before, to mildly demand for his attention.

"Leave the book aside" she purred groggily, cupping his cheek gently to direct his gaze at her.

"Why are you so affectionate, all of a sudden?" he questioned while complying to her demanding request. He looked at her for a moment, keeping his sober demeanour but taking in all the information he could at the same time. She was suddenly looking so feline; a confidence and power he had never seen showing on her eyes before. It was as if she were making him accomplice to something. And it felt strangely good, seeing her like that.

"Why, you ask? How insensitive..." she scolded him with less playfulness than he would have wanted. The pursing of her lips was enough proof to know that his question had bothered her in all seriousness. "Are you serious?".

"What? Can't I have an honest doubt?" he retorted with slight hints of confusion and exasperation at how easily he had obviously made her upset. But his second question didn't seem to help the least bit. In fact, the mild annoyance she had just shown had now turned into a deep frown and irritation radiating from her.

"You are so dense" she said with unwilling disdain as she moved her body away from his.

"This is what you made me leave my book for?" he asked, now starting to get frustrated at the way she refused to clarify what exactly he had said that was so wrong and why. But all he received in exchange for his questions was a groan and her leaving the bed. "Aren't you going to explain yourself?" he pressed.

She stopped in the middle of the room at half her way to leaving the room and prepare to go back to the inn as soon as possible. Instead, she turned around and walked back to the bed, standing by Add's side and slightly leaning over to whisper on his ear.

"Because we had intercourse, Add. We did it after you read a sonnet to me and you were so tender and so sweet that I thought that maybe, maybe you had opened up your heart a little bit more and I felt like doing the same. That's why" she muttered with a firm tone that bordered with the anger, dangerously playing with its limits. As soon as the last word came out through her mouth she withdrawed, resuming the original plan of getting out of his bedroom and go about her day, working at the inn as she should do. She closed the door leaving a conflicted man behind.

Walking through the busy streets of the town she stepped against the stone with a strong pace, short but quick steps moving the ample skirt around her feet. She hated the inn; the disgusting smell that emanated from the walls and the decaying feel of its badly mantained structure. But at least she would have the chance to take her mind out of the buzzing thoughts that were whirling around inside her head. It was a disgrace. Even if no one were to find out Add was a vampire, the fact that she had behaved like that being a single lady was bad enough. To top it off, he had acted as if it wasn't even a big deal, or like it didn't mean or change anything. What a brute he was sometimes.

But even when those kind of thoughts were busying her, she couldn't help but feel how an increasing sense of guilt started to grow inside her. She recriminated herself for filling her mind with that sort of banal issues, when there was so much she needed to worry about and resolve. Add had completely flooded her mind with his sole existence the past weeks, so much that the deplorable situation of the town had been relegated to second place. She knew she hadn't been acting responsibly towards the extermination of the invading demons that had taken so much through her life, even if it was true that the death of her hunting team made it impossible for her to take care of it alone with the same efficiency. What she was currently doing would also be useful to solve the problem, hopefully, even more than going out at night and killing a couple of demons if she managed to find them. But still, being recluded inside a library studying translation didn't feel as involved as she'd want to be about the end to the demon invasion. What to do, what to do.

Glancing down at the palms of her hands she had a certain thought crossing her mind for an instant, enough to linger inside her head for the rest of the way towards the inn. The vibration and heat she had felt in her fingers when that strange vortex had been created out of nothingness, with just her precise words, were something she couldn't shake off the memory of her skin. She had felt the power flowing inside of her like a wave of hotness so clearly that it almost didn't seem real. The same had happened with the restoration spell she had casted upon herself after Add's vicious feast, but differently. The first time it had been as if something really strong was being exuded from her body, appearing inside her chest first and spreading all over to penetrate then through her skin and to the exterior from the tip of her fingers. The last time, however, it had been something that flooded her completly. Something that enveloped her and filled every corner of her insides. The sensation of her body recovering its own life and strength was indescribable.

She looked closely at her right hand, opening and closing the fist her fingers formed; it looked almost foreign to her. But if all of what happened had been real, if it was really possible for her to create that sort of forces with just the knowledge of an ancient language then it was clear that she needed to attain more of that power conversance gave her. She came to a stop near a solitary alleyway, closing her eyes to try and remember the exact words that had unleashed the discovery of that mystical power. She found them seared into her mind; she could almost see them engraved inside her eyelids, dancing in front of her.

Mimicking the movements of her lips the previous night she started to repeat the words that were presenting themselves to her in the form of unforgettable memories. That heating sensation started to grow inside her chest once again, more and more intensely as the reciting progressed. Her extended arm felt heavy and full of a strange strength she struggled to keep at bay, feeling the tips of her fingers with stinging heat. In the middle of the dark a yellowish light started to emerge out of nothing, swirling vertiginously and taking more and more strength and more and more size as she got closer to the end of the spell. She had to stand firmly on her spot to avoid being attracted towards that powerful wind that was filling the narrow passage between two old buildings, increasing in size and its light becoming more intense. It lingered there in the middle of the air for a few second before retracting and absorbing itself with a small explosion, even when she hadn't withdrawed her arm.

Ara stood in the middle of the dark alley for a few minutes, staring in front of her where the vortex had been. A satisfied smile pushed itself to her lips, her stomach filling with a sensation of success. She had done it; not one, but two times successfully. It was enough proof of what she was capable of doing, and it felt like nothing she had ever experienced. Her body was trembling with excitment and tiredness, part of her energy flowing out of her body. She felt suddenly drained, but the emotion of the accomplishment was overwhelming.

She turned around, her whole body vibrating with contained content, and her eyes met yellow irises glowing in the dark, staring back at her from the beginning of the alley. Walking closer, she kneeled down to draw her hand nearer the black cat that seemed to scrutinize her with its attentive gaze. It looked surly, but didn't get away when her fingers ran through its thick and soft fur. The cat didn't purr or rub its head against her hand, but let itself be petted by Ara's gentle hand calmly. Its eyes were intense, not leaving her for even a second, almost attracting and mysterious. A husky chuckle came through her lips as she petted behind its ears.

"You know, you remind me of someone I know" she cooed softly, smiling at the animal that was attentively peering at her. Its ears twitched slightly at her words. She stood up again. "Goodbye, kitten" she whispered before resuming her way to the inn, leaving the black cat behind.

Feeling lighter on her feet than she did after leaving Add's castle, she arrived to the old building where the innkeeper awaited for her return. Being received with a grumpy face, yelling and the severe scolding of the old lady was something she had expected, so much that she was unshaken by the aggressive treatment the woman was giving her. She was late for her chores, yes; the old woman had to serve the breakfast and clean the bathroom alone, yes. But still she was right in time to clean the pensioners bedrooms and help prepare and serve lunch. Maybe being forbidden to take a serving of pottage as punishment for not complying with her part of the deal wasn't going to be as bad as it sounded. And it all honesty, it was fair. She had to work for food and a bed. She didn't do what she had to, she lost one of the privileges for the day. It was simple.

Ara went upstairs and into her room to change her clothes for a more appropriate attire for cleaning. Leaving the formal dress she had worn for the failed ball inside the wardrobe, she took a simpler, thinner, uglier dress for her to stain with all kinds of dirtiness. She tied up the lace that attached the fabric to her back and combed her hair in a braid to then fix it in a big bun. Just then she took the time to glance in the direction of the small balcony and see the black cat from before sitting with perfect balance in the railing, staring at her impassively with its cold, prideful eyes.

"Oh, you followed me...I can't have animals in here, just so you know" she told the cat with resignation, even if she knew it couldn't understand her. When she walked closer to it, the feline jumped off the railing and walked into her room, passing her by on its way to climb to the highest point of the tall wardrobe in front of her bed. It almost felt like it was mocking her, showing her how she wasn't going to be able to tame it. Now the cat looked down at her from its mighty position at the highest place of the room. She sighed; she wasn't going to fight with a cat. "Okay, stay there if you want then" she merely said as she left the room.

The afternoon passed by terribly fast as she occupied herself with diverse chores. Help preparing the pottage for lunch, cleaning the pensioners bedrooms while they were busy eating, cleaning the kitchen after they were done, cleaning the corridors and the salon. She barely noticed the transition of the light from its subtle yellowish tone, to a dark orange, to the blackness of the night. She was exhausted and hungry, but there was nothing she could do about that at this point, but sleeping it off.

When she returned to her bedroom the cat was still there, watching every one of her movements while she made it inside and closed the door and then while she undressed to get a deserved bath. Its piercing stare was pinned on her even when she was submerged in the warm water of the bathtub, waiting from up one of the shelves in the room. It had been slightly disturbing at first, but she decided to ignore it. It was just a cat after all. It even followed her to the bed when she was ready to sleep. Contradicting the distant behaviour it had shown the entire day, the feline crawled close to her and quietly snuggled against her chest, pridefully, almost like claiming an earned right. She felt resigned and content at the same time. This animal was stubborn and cocky, but the soft company of its body was somewhat soothing. She caressed its head and back tenderly as she slowly fell asleep, feeling its weight on her chest and its humid nose rosing her skin.

The white light of the moon had taken over the dark mantle of the night, redrawing every shape with its pristine contouring. It had been hours since Ara had fallen asleep with the cat cuddled against her body; the subtle sound of her slow and calm breathing was the only thing that could be heard in the room for a long time. Until a different noise started to slowly take over the silence.

Deep growling and groaning and the sound of claws climbing up the wall under the balcony.

* * *

 **Anessa: I'm glad you're enjoying the fic!**

 **Ace the Card Mage ; I don't think I get what you mean?**

 **nanashimai: I didn't want to write it explicitly because it was gonna be ugly ;-; plus it wouldn't have been coherent with the rest of the fic, I think. I actually was shrieking and giggling to myself while writing that chapter lel. I'm glad you like it! And thank you for your constant support ;-;**

 **So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **If you liked this chapter or are enjoying the fanfic so far please don't forget to let me know what you think 3 remember i'm always open to replying to your private messages too!**

 **See you soon 33**


	23. Chapter 22

The small and old room was submerged in dense darkness, just a few shy rays of lights coming from the public lighting in the streets filtering through the only window. The atmosphere inside was heavy and suffocating, the seconds passing like hours in that frozen moment in time where you could only hear the increasing growlings approaching the balcony and the wild beating of Ara's heart, standing next to the bed with a spear gripped between her hands. She was waiting, and so was the night. Everything suspended in a single moment of expectation, a prelude to the shattering peace of a sleeping town.

The cat was alert; its glowing eyes fixated on the expectating girl in the middle of the room, the ears twitching at the sounds that were crawling closer and closer to the end of that silent agony. The wooden floor creaked hauntingly under the pressure of her feet, the leaves of the trees under the window rustled softly with the gentle movement of the wind. The accusatory noise of predation became louder and louder as the moment of culmination got nearer.

Then it happened. The horde of demonic creatures bursted inside the bedroom with atrocious whimpers of hunger that broke the quietness of that night into a thousand pieces. They roared and growled with ripping throats along with she shattering of glass and broken wood. The air became gelid inside with laments and dragged feet across the old floor. Dozens of bony, sharp hands reached for the woman's body and those glowing red eyes looked at her with hunger. Dense, dark liquid started to splash all over the room, staining the walls, covering the floor as the phylum of her spear pierced through the demons with expertice, penetrating on their flesh and breaking through their guts with shrill groans of agony and splattering. She moved swiftly and quickly to raze through the group of demons, but it seemed to be increasing. The sound of claws digging into the stone of the exterior walls was still getting louder and louder, as more and more beasts crawled towards the entrance to her room. It was endless, no matter how fast she managed to slash them with her weapon or how many she shook off her limbs, they kept coming and their number wasn't reducing. The cat was impassively sitting on the bed, watching the scene with unshakable mien.

There was only one way to fix it, and it didn't even matter to her how much it was going to cost her. Taking a few quick steps towards the bed she grabbed the cat from under its front legs and accomodated it on her left shoulder, fast enough to not let it protest or try to squirm out of her grasp. To her surprise, it didn't move. Now that the small feline had been put out of potential danger, she extended the arm that was still holding the spear, gathering the powerful words of the spell inside her mind. As she closed her eyes, sharp claws started to grab onto her limbs, but there was no stoping to what she had started, and soon the words started to slip easily through her lips.

Just like it happened the two previous times, the magical vortex started to form in the center of room with an incredible suction force that created powerful whirls of wind around it. She kept chanting it stoically, knowing it was going to be the only chance for her to defeat the increasing horde of demons crawling to her bedroom. The center gap of the vortex, surrounded by extremely bright light, started to suck in everything around it. From the helpless bodies of the growling demons, to their corpses and the furniture inside the small room. It was starting to be extremely hard to stay put and avoid the strength of the wind that wanted to attract everything towards the unrelenting void. Everything near enough the center of that chaos was helplessly supressed inside of it, before its strength finally gave in and it sucked itself to disappearance.

She stumbled backwards, using the wall behind her as support for her tired body. She was notoriously weaker, her limbs nearly asleep due to what the casting of that spell had taken out of her in exchange. Her heartbeats were wildly pressing against her chest and the rythm of her breathing agitated her to exhaustion. She could barely hold onto her spear, but it still remained secure on her palms. But all that effort had been useless. More and more demons were crawling on the walls and coming inside, and she didn't have enough strength to keep fighting. The adrenaline that rushed inside her veins pushed her to go on, taking a few more creatures with her spear, but it was going to be impossible to defeat them at this rate.

There was only one thing she could do at this point, and it was going to be enough time to make her completly vulnerable to their attacks. But if she wanted to survive the night, she had to do it. The magic of incantation was once again the only answer; the restoration spell Add had taught her was going to be the hope she'd had to cling to in order to stay alive for longer. To keep fighting.

Leaning her back against the wall in an attempt of saving the little energy she had left, she did her best to focus and concentrate on the memories that were rushing back to her mind. She tried to slow down the rythm of her breathing, putting all her effort in remembering the spell correctly. Her lips started to move quickly along with the verses that were burnt inside her memory; demonic hands pulling of her legs, sharp fang digging on her flesh. But she couldn't fight, not now. If only she could a few more minutes.

The black cat jumped off her shoulder and onto the floor, standing pridefully right in front of her. The demons were going to kill it for sure, but she couldn't focus in that, it was too much. Her attention had to be entirely on the casting of the spell only, even if it meant a few sacrifices had to be done, including herself. What happened next was something she didn't expect even in her wildest dreams.

In front of her eyes the small animal stood in two legs, slowly and progressively growing in size and little by little morphing into what seemed to be a human body. She saw the figure of a tall man standing in front of her, with skinny yet muscular body and long, silvery hair falling on the broad back that she knew all too well. It was Add, there was no doubt. She would have called out to him, she would have asked how that happened or what was going on, but there was no time to do any of that. There was only one task that could have her attention. And he knew that.

Her voice full of despair as she recited the incantation was the background sound for a the grotesque scenery that was unfolding in front of her. As the demons approached, Add grabbed their heads one by one to twist them to a side, creating an opening for him to dig his fangs on that greyish skin and bite the neck, tearing it apart when the head was pulled even further, ripping it off brutally. His strength was unbelievable, dismembering the demonic creatures with ease by just pulling and bitting and clawing. She saw his red eyes glowing in the dark room, a ferocious expression worthy of a beast disfiguring his handsome face even further, with gums that showed and gritting teeth permanently visible as he roared loudly and bit off pieces of flesh, showering himself with dark blood. The noises that came out of him were those of an angry wolf, mercilessly devouring whatever crossed his path and turning it to pieces of dripping meat and unmoving limbs and heads. The room was covered in blood from the ceiling to the floor.

He protected her fiercly from any demon that tried to approach her, leaving her space to finish the incantation without disturbances. Once the last words had been pronounced, her body was engulfed completely by a warm sensation of relief that slowly started to fill her entirely. She could feel the energy flowing back to her like a resurrection. For now, it was enough to give her the capability of fighting, so she joined him without delay. Together they went through each wave of demons that managed to come inside, their members scattered over the floor and the dark liquid of their veins splattering all over the place as the flesh was ripped and teared apart over and over and over again with the spear, claws and fangs.

Only when the last one of them had been completely destroyed they were able to rest. The continuous succession of demons couldn't last forever, and it was only possible for them to endure through them long enough to see its end. Ara's breathing was agitated, but it was nothing compared to the beastly restlessness of that man who had been taken over by a beast. He was agitated, standing in the middle of the room with his red eyes wide open and visible fangs. They were both completely covered in the blood of the demons, but it was also dripping generously from his fingers and his chin, covering his mouth and splattered on his face.

The relief and emotion of survival overflowed them, and she looked with affection at the man who had surrendered to the beast inside of him to protect her and give her the time she needed. Even if it was a terrifying version of himself, even if the dangerous red of his irises was glowing threateningly in the dark and black blood was dripping from his exposed fangs and murderous fingers, she came to understand something about him. She understood something about herself.

She stepped closer to him, making the distance between them disappear slowly as both of her hands cupped his stained cheeks. A quiet growl came out of his throat, but she didn't care. Something was flooding her veins, something that made her heart pound with more strength than fear. Grazing his lips with warmth she pressed her body against his, locking their mouths in a bloody kiss. His agitation slowly fading away.

* * *

 **Hey, so I was wondering...would you guys rather have short chapters like this one? or just the long ones I've been doing so far? Please tell me in the reviews section!**

 **Also, don't forget to leave a comment if you're liking it so far~**

 **Until next time.**


	24. Apology

I have to be honest with you guys, this fanfic is no longer going to be updated.

Let me explain why. The first reason is that I'm a college student, I started my classes already and I just don't have time anymore. There's a lot of effort and time investment in trying to get good grades in college and I have a lot to read and a lot to study and a lot of essay writing and spending time with my classmates. I don't even have time to play the game anymore (goodbye perki weap).

But the second and more important reason is that I don't like this fanfic anymore. And that's because this is not the story that I wanted to write. I started writing it with a very clear concept, I knew what I wanted from it and I knew exactly what I wanted to do, but along the way I started to doubt myself too much, I started to worry about the things that I thought YOU wanted too much and censoring myself. This story should have been so much different.

I wanted to make a more deep, complex plot. I wanted to make Add and Ara's relationship develop in a more realistic way, I wanted it to take time and be based on experiences shared and getting to know each other on a deeper way and warming up to each other more and not rush it as much as I did (even though it took several chapters for them to actually do something). I wanted to work on the plot a lot more, on the Ran issue, on the demons invasion issue, on Add's backstory issue, on the castle being enchanted issue, on Ara's and the elgang relationship issue, on Elesis anger and suspicions issues, all of that. I wanted to take my time to make it a good, solid story with mystery and deeper meanings and a realistic way of showing emotions and how the characters dealt with what was happening. But I started worrying too much.

I like really extensive and detailed writing, but I thought no one would like that. I thought you would get bored if I extended things too much and if nothing actually happened in too much time. My boyfriend read the chapters before I published them, and a lot of times he told me that it was okay but that there was no action happening. So I thought 'people is going to get bored of this', so I started to rush it a bit more and ended up not developing the story the way I wanted and it just stopped making sense. I wanted to take my time to set the right environment for events to take place, to take my time to show the characters emotions, to set the right atmosphere for the story, for it to actually make sense. For example, when Elesis showed up at the party to accuse Add, it looked as if I had suddenly thought 'oh shit, there's this thing with Elesis going on I should add it, I totally forgot', but that wasn't the case at all. I had planned how I wanted it to happen, I knew it had to be right after Add and Ara had had their first romantic exchange, just that it should have been a lot deeper into the story, so I could set the background well enough for it to be believable and actually important to the story. But I ended up rushing it and it just felt plain stupid.

The only thing I wanted to do was to create something interesting and complex, something that would stay with you after you had finished reading it. I wanted to make it so you could feel what they were feeling, experience the tension, the despair, the fear, the passion, experiment the emotions and the atmosphere that were set in the story. But I started to worry that you would find it boring, that if I didn't put some action in there you would lose interest, that if I didn't make the story advance more dramatically it would get boring. The big reveal of the situation behind the castle and where the demons were coming from wasn't supposed to be solved so quickly, but all the studying Add and Ara were doing together had been extending for too long and I thought that you were probably sick of it already. I forced myself to write things I thought you would like and enjoy, and just stopped enjoying writing it myself.

I stopped writing what I wanted to make, I stopped doing what I wanted, I stopped doing it for MY enjoyment. It's just not something that I can feel proud of, it almost feels like it's not my story at all. I still fantasize sometimes with the story, the one I actually wanted to make, and I really love it. But it's just so different now, the story I wrote in this page has nothing to do with what I had imagined anymore. I started to worry about the characters too, about Add being way too out of character even though I knew the story was set in an AU where he was a socialite and aristocratic vampire, I received a lot of complains for Ara's character too, so I tried changing her even though she was my interpretation of the character and ended up hating her myself with the things I changed.

I thought about remaking the story from scratch, the way I wanted it to be, to write it for me to feel proud of what I create, but who would want to read the kind of story I want to write? And the people who already followed this story won't want to read it from the start anyway. So this is it.

This is not the story I wanted to make, and I am really sorry for that.

Thanks a lot to the people that reviewed, or sent private messages, or followed me and favorited me or the story. You have no idea how much it means to me. It warmed up my heart every time I read a review. And a big shout out to nanashimai too, because you were such a loyal and sweet reader, I loved seeing your reviews and you're such an incredibly kind person, thanks a lot.

Thank you for everything, and I'm sorry.


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